Drag Me into the Depths
by twentythirteen
Summary: Rear Admiral Richard Drake, an American with a serious case of PTSD, finds himself in joint command of a Japanese naval base participating in the Kancolle Program. Seeking revenge for his previous encounter with the enemy, Drake, along with his new fleet, sets out to destroy the Abyssals. However, they soon find that to challenge the abyss, one must be prepared to pay in blood.
1. Rebirth I

_Hello, and thanks for reading. I first started playing Kancolle a few months ago since I've always been interested in war history and stuff like that, and that eventually caused me to start this story as well. For me, writing has been a good way to practice my literary skills, and it also serves as a good outlet for ideas, so once I get really interested in something, I usually write about it... I can't say for how long that interest will hold, but for now and the foreseeable future, this is a topic I'd like to explore further. Anyway, the summary is a decent enough introduction for this story, so that's really all I have to say. Thanks again for reading, and now, onto the story:_

* * *

A sudden, intense explosion rang out, filling the air with fire, debris, and the screams of the shocked and wounded. Commander Richard Maximilian Drake lifted an arm to shield himself from the blast as he simultaneously snapped his head up towards the bridge of the _USS Freedom's Sacrifice_ in an effort to locate the source of the blast. The heat from the explosion hit him, and shards of metal crashed down around the disoriented officer, falling down onto the metal deck with a clang. Drake's brown eyes widened with horror as he saw that the bridge of the battleship had been completely annihilated, leaving only a burning husk where the command center had previously been.

"Shit! The Captain was in there!" a nearby ensign called out as he cringed at the sight. He then turned to Drake. "Commander! What should we -"

The sailor's sentence was cut short as another blast tore open the air. Before either man knew what was happening, a shard of steel came hurtling down and ripped the ensign almost in half, his torso barely hanging onto his hips by a couple thin cords of flesh. The corpse hit the deck, dark blood flowing freely from the nearly-bisected sailor and slowing to a creep as it pooled around him.

Drake gaped at the scene, fear and panic overriding his senses. He immediately rushed for cover as he sprinted back towards one of the doorways which led to the interior of the ship. More flying metal shards and other debris crashed down around him, and all he could do was keep running forward, knowing that at any moment, a stray piece of the bridge or an Abyssal shell or bomber could put an end to his life. A splash of water sounded from the water around the ship, and he quickly spared a glance over the deck to see a terrifying figure emerging from the depths. A creature with long, wet hair and one glowing blue eye creeped out from the ocean, wearing some sort of strange gas mask. Drake grit his teeth as the Abyssal turned its back turret towards the ship and outstretched a pale, sickly arm towards him. Luckily, however, the monster was forced back underwater as a blast shot from a nearby destroyer landed close to it, spraying a column of seawater into the air.

Drake continued running, and eventually, he made it to the doorway and entered the interior of the ship, back to relative safety. As he stood with his back against the wall, his hands on his knees and gasping for air, a pair of sailors approached him. The commander looked up, his expression strained.

The sailors looked frayed as well, but they managed to give Drake a shaky salute nonetheless. "Commander! All officers on the bridge have been k-killed!"

It was just as Drake had feared. "... What happened?"

"A flurry of Abyssal bombers bypassed our anti-air guns and managed to drop their payload on the bridge," the sailor explained. "A second strike hit soon after."

"All right. Who is in command now?"

The sailors looked at each other nervously. "No one, sir. It's possible that you may be the highest-ranking officer left alive…"

"Fine," Drake said gruffly, straightening himself. This was no time to be scared; if he did not take control of the situation now, he would die. "I will take command for now. You two, follow me to the situation room."

The commander began making his way towards the situation room, the two sailors trailing closely behind. Drake's pace was rushed and frantic, a perfect reflection of his inner thoughts. He had never been given command of a vessel as significant as a battleship before, and though he had gone through extensive training, nothing could have prepared him for this moment.

The trio arrived at the situation room, and Drake immediately rushed towards the large windows to observe the battle outside. He grimaced as he watched the destroyers' futile attempts at shooting the black Abyssals that popped up from the ocean, and he could see the horrifying forms of the bigger Abyssals a bit further off. With their twisted limbs and skin the color of dead flesh, the Abyssals truly were the stuff of nightmares. The sick buzzing noise of the small abyssal aircraft was constant, and among the cacophony, explosions and the booming of cannons could be heard as well. Numerous ships were up in flames, filling the sky with smoke. The dark ocean was slick with oil and other liquids, and metal debris bobbed up and down among the tumultuous waters.

"W-we're losing…" one of the sailors stated plainly, his face pale as he too looked out the window. "We're really losing…"

"This is it, isn't it?" the other asked, despair painted plainly in his eyes.

Drake's mouth contorted into a snarl, his heart pounding in his chest as he ran a hand through his messy black hair. "No… It isn't over yet… It can't be!"

"They're slaughtering us!" the first sailor cried out, his tone becoming hysterical. "What can we do against those… those _things_!"

Though Drake tried to think of an answer, his thoughts were derailed as he watched a destroyer take a savage blow from the cannons of one of the deformed creatures.

As the ship went up in flames, sailors dove from the decks, jumping into the Abyssal-infested waters to avoid being burned alive. The Abyssal who had destroyed the ship sailed over to the burning vessel. The creature took the appearance of a beautiful, pale woman with a short black dress and glowing red eyes and horns, and her 'rigging' consisted of a literal monster with muscular arms and a gaping mouth filled with jagged teeth that were dripping with drool. Six massive cannons were attached to the monster's back, and they were smoking after just having punched a hole through the destroyer. The three sailors in the situation room watched helplessly as the Abyssal's monster rigging grabbed two overboard sailors with its gray arms and shoved one of them into its mouth, tearing off the sailor's head from his neck with ease. Blood rained down over the creature and its master, and the monster used its other arm to hold up the remaining sailor for the abyssal herself to eat. As the abyssal tore some flesh out of the sailor's stomach area with her mouth, the sailor screamed in agony, his mouth twisting and his body writhing even as the sound of his pain was lost over the din of the battlefield.

"S-sir?" one of the sailors in the situation room asked after witnessing the brutal scene.

In the midst of her feast, the Abyssal's haunting red eyes suddenly shot towards Drake, locking eyes with the commander. A sharp chill went up Drake's spine.

"Order a retreat!" Drake shouted, whirling around, his eyes wide and desperate. He glanced at the name tag of the second sailor. "You! Byron! Tell navigations to head towards the Moroccan coast. We're sailing to Tangier's port."

The sailor saluted and rushed out of the room, and Drake moved over to the loudspeaker that would allow him to communicate with the whole ship.

"All hands, this is Commander Richard Drake! Prepare for a tactical retreat towards the port city of Tangier! Perform evasive maneuvers, and order anyone and everyone in the vicinity to follow if they want to live!"

Drake then got off the speaker, taking a steadying breath. Even if he fled from the battlefield, there was a high chance that the Abyssals would sink his ship as it turned around to run. At any moment, this stretch of sea could become his watery grave.

"We can't go towards the coast!" the remaining sailor protested. "If we go there, we'll be trapped between the Abyssals and the city!"

"Coleridge, is it?" Drake began, reading the sailor's tag. "Retreating towards the city is the best option. Tangier has anti-Abyssal guns installed on its shore, which will provide covering fire for us. It will also be easier to make a defensive stand there rather than just sit around on the open ocean and leave ourselves wide open to attacks from all directions by the extremely mobile Abyssals."

 _There's also the fact that the Abyssals may divert some of their firepower to attack the city instead of us,_ the commander thought grimly. _If that happens, it will take some of the pressure off us, but it will also result in heavy civilian casualties… It can't be helped. It's us or them at this point._

Drake felt the ship begin to turn, and soon enough, they were on a fast-track towards the coast. As they sailed at top speed towards Tangier, Abyssal shells whistled past them and crashed throughout the ocean, sending up geysers of seawater around the battleship. Abyssal aircraft also flew dangerously close to the ship, and every time the anti-air guns went off, Drake prepared himself for the very real possibility that the ship would sink. The ship was actually hit by a bomb one of those times, and Drake's heart nearly stopped beating before he realized that the ship was still going strong and therefore the strike must have been a non-fatal one.

As the sun started to set and began reflecting its orange rays off the shimmering sea, _Freedom's Sacrifice_ and a small group of destroyers came within sight of the coast. A small squadron of ships from what looked to be the Italian fleet was also there, apparently having had the same idea as Drake.

 _So the Abyssals didn't put all their effort into chasing us down if we made it this far. The bulk of their strength must have remained behind to finish off the ships that couldn't retreat with us._ Essentially, Drake had left his own comrades as bait to cover his retreat. Though he thought it unfortunate, it was the best plan he could come up with on the spot.

The ships turned and made their final stand at the coast, their backs to the Moroccan city of Tangier. Drake stared out the window of the situation room, his eyes unblinking and strained. His heart pounded, and his breathing was rapid and unsteady. In the distance, black figures emerged from the ocean, their silhouettes clearly visible against the setting sun. The smaller Abyssals leapt through the ocean like demonic dolphins, and the bigger ones stayed back and fired their cannons from afar. The more moderately-sized Abyssals also made their way towards the remaining ships, gliding through the ocean as they moved to finish their prey.

 _So they've come..._ Drake thought as his ships opened fire. The boom of Tangier's anti-Abyssal guns also sounded, though truth be told, the guns on the beach were too far away to accurately hit the advancing Abyssals.

A zooming noise cut through the sky as Abyssal aircraft rushed towards the fleet. Drake braced himself, expecting his ship to be hit at any moment now. However, the aircraft sailed over the fleet entirely, heading towards the city instead.

 _So the Abyssals are going for the most vulnerable target first._ Drake felt morbidly satisfied that the Abyssals were sparing his ship from their full aerial onslaught, though this would mean that the civilians in the city would suffer. Luckily, reinforcements from the US Liberation Navy and the Regia Marina would be arriving soon, and since the transmission for reinforcements hadn't been encoded, the Abyssals likely intercepted it and knew that as well. Therefore, it would make sense for them to focus on inflicting the most damage both physically and psychologically before retreating, and destroying an entire city would do just that.

The commander stood in the situation room, his muscles tense. Now all that remained was a waiting game: would reinforcements arrive in time, or would the Abyssals destroy the entire fleet and the city first? The whining of the shells descending towards the sea filled the air with a symphony of death, and each projectile had the potential to seriously cripple the battleship depending on where it hit. Another explosion sounded, and Drake frowned as he watched a destroyer catch fire after being hit with an Abyssal shell. _There goes our last screening vessel._

Suddenly, the _Freedom's Sacrifice_ shook violently, nearly throwing the commander off his feet. Sirens began blaring, and Drake ran out of the situation room in order to see what had happened. Fearing the worst, he sprinted towards the deck before throwing the door open. Outside, the sounds of the battle were much louder and fiercer, and the noise of things blowing up added to the horrifying orchestra of whistling shells and bursting seawater.

A few other sailors had also rushed outside to assess the damage, and Drake noticed that one of them was Coleridge, the sailor who had been with him earlier.

"What the hell just happened?" Drake demanded.

"I think we took a hit!" the sailor said, stating the obvious. "A bad one! We might sink!"

"Damn it! Where exactly did -"

The commander was interrupted by a hail of gunfire from above, and he ducked back inside the ship, reflexively shutting the steel door as he tried to avoid the airstrike. However, Coleridge had remained outside, unable to get to cover due to the commander having shut the door in his panic. Through the steel wall, Drake heard the sound of bullets piercing metal, and when the noise subsided, he gingerly opened the door again.

Propped up against the steel door was Coleridge, his face half blown off and his white uniform stained crimson. His lower jaw had been torn off, and the left side of his face had caved in. Bits of brain and skull fragments lay scattered around him, and the metallic smell of blood was strong.

Drake slammed the door shut again and tried to catch his breath. The ship lurched again, and this time the commander really did lose his balance. He fell to the ground, his face hitting the hard, cold, steel floor. Another explosion sounded, and the battleship shook.

The commander lay on the ground, still dazed from his fall. Even as his vision swam, the sinister figures of the Abyssals were ever present in his mind, and he knew that they were waiting for him at the bottom of the unforgiving sea. His stomach churned as he recalled the scene of the Abyssal picking up sailors and violently tearing into them, their blood and guts spilling from their slowly-dying bodies and contaminating the ocean. Her red eyes bored into his mind as the sirens continued to blare, and the panicked sound of boots on steel and shouting began overtaking the ship.

 _Is… Is this the end?_

* * *

Captain Richard Maximilian Drake stood in front of the heavy steel door, taking a moment to prepare himself before knocking three times. The sound of his gloved fist banging on the metal frame resounded through the empty hallway, and after a moment, the door opened to reveal a tall blonde woman with a bubbly smile.

The captain blinked in surprise. He had been called to a private meeting with Admiral Cassius, so he did not expect anyone else to be here. The woman stepped to the side and gestured for Drake to enter, and when he did, he saw the admiral seated at his large wooden desk. Drake stood to attention, giving his superior a stiff salute.

"Good afternoon, Captain," Admiral Cassius greeted, his voice tired. "Please have a seat."

Drake obliged, and he noticed the woman had moved over to stand beside the admiral, her mischievous blue eyes studying the captain. She wore the standard white uniform of the US Liberation Navy, but Drake could not recall ever seeing her before. Her appearance was also a bit strange; her long, blonde hair and her chest that struggled to burst out of her shirt clashed with her professional uniform, and her eyes looked like they had stars in them. He wondered if she was wearing some sort of contact lenses as a fashion statement, but that would go against military regulations…

"You are being reassigned, Captain," the admiral began, getting straight to the point. "We have decided to send you to Japan."

Drake's dark brown eyes narrowed slightly as his mouth hardened into a thin line. The military usually kept its best officers close to the continental states, especially in times of conflict. A reassignment to a US base away from the combat theatre was usually seen as a demotion.

"This isn't a punishment," Admiral Cassius continued, as if he had read Drake's mind. "We need someone we can trust over there, and we have settled on you. Tell me, have you heard of the Kancolle Program?"

"... I have. Only rumors, sir."

The admiral nodded. "I see. Well, that isn't surprising considering the secrecy surrounding the program up until now. However, now that the Abyssal threat has essentially spiraled out of control, we have no choice but to throw our lot in with these 'ship girls.' Recent deployments have confirmed that they are far more effective at combating Abyssals than regular ships and planes."

Drake tried to process what the admiral had said. _So not only are the ship girls real, but they have actually been fighting Abyssals as well?_ He had many questions.

"So… What are they, exactly?" the captain asked. "Some say that they are advanced androids, while others say that they are humans reincarnated with the soul of past warships. The latter can't possibly be true, but I wasn't aware that we had the technology to develop the former."

The admiral shook his head. "I don't know how to answer that, Captain. If I had to say, they are probably a mix of both. I'm no scientist, but according to reports I've read, they have the mind of humans, but their bodies are reinforced with steel and bauxite and they run on fuel like regular ships. However, they also contain human organs and blood in their bodies, so many of their functions are also human-like. Other than that, there isn't much I can tell you. Nobody, not even the girls themselves, knows where they came from, or how it is that they came into being. They are like the Abyssals in that regard. All I know, and all I need to know, is that they are the key to defeating those damn things."

"I see," Drake said, though in truth, he did not understand much at all. "So the rumors which say they are like actual girls are more or less true?"

"I suppose so. Do you find that hard to believe?"

Drake was silent, unsure of how to answer. The admiral then spoke again.

"What if I told you that this woman beside me is a ship girl?"

The captain's eyes immediately shot to the blonde standing behind the admiral, and she grinned at him.

"E-excuse me, sir?"

"She's a ship girl," the admiral repeated. He then turned to the woman. "Why don't you introduce yourself?"

"I'm the USS Iowa!" she declared proudly, her voice cheery. "Laid down in 1940 and a veteran of World War II and the Korean War! Nice to meet you, Captain!"

Drake stared dumbly, unsure of whether or not this was all some sort of joke. "But… But she just looks like a regular woman!"

"Yes," the admiral replied, frowning. "As I said, they have the appearance and mannerisms of humans. It is their combat ability that truly makes them special. Certainly you remember what happened at Tangier?"

Drake nodded slowly as he recalled his first up-close encounter with the creatures known as the Abyssals. The Disaster at Tangier was an intense naval conflict where a small Abyssal fleet laid waste to a combined force of Spanish, Italian, and American ships near the Strait of Gibraltar. Though there had been contact with the Abyssals prior to this battle, they had mostly been small-scale firefights where the Abyssals retreated after only doing some minor damage. However, Tangier was different. The battle started when an Abyssal fleet surrounded and sunk a pair of Italian trade ships around the area, causing Italy and Spain to deploy their own fleets to get rid of the blockage. A nearby US squadron, which Drake had been a part of, was also sent to assist their NATO allies.

However, none of the three nations expected the sort of resistance that the Abyssals put up. This time, the strange creatures were determined to fight, and instead of running away, they utterly smashed the combined fleet. The fleet's three carriers were targeted first, completely eliminating the humans' air power. Battleships and even the destroyers were far too slow to hit the fast-moving Abyssals, and the demons from the deep ran circles around the NATO fleet. Though the Abyssals were smaller than traditional bombers and warships, their guns did just as much, if not more, damage than regular weapons, and their combined mobility and firepower easily sunk two-thirds of the fleet in less than an hour.

With a huge portion of the fleet destroyed, Drake had somehow managed to hold off the Abyssals until reinforcements from the US Liberation Navy and the Regia Marina arrived, at which point the Abyssals retreated. Though the Battle at Tangier had been an absolute disaster, hence its name, it was the battle that got Drake promoted to captain and the one which essentially made his career in the Navy. Even though he had survived the fight, the sights, sounds, and smells of Tangier never left his mind. Worse still was when Drake went into the city itself after the battle to assess the damage, as it had been his strategy that had resulted in Tangier being bombed. The result was mortifying: men, women, and children had been indiscriminately slaughtered, the lucky ones having been instantly been blown to pieces by Abyssal bombers while the more unfortunate suffered painful deaths after being crushed by rubble or torn apart by shrapnel. Though he always considered himself mentally strong, the sights at Tangier had left Drake unable to sleep for days.

"Did you ever wonder why the Abyssals retreated when we arrived?" Admiral Cassius asked, referring to the relief force that he led towards the end of the battle. "It doesn't matter how many ships we brought. The Abyssals could have destroyed us either way. The reason why they left was because we made them leave. Or, I should say, the ship girls made them leave."

Iowa grinned at this and nodded, crossing her arms under her ample chest.

"It's understandable that you didn't see them," the admiral continued. "They aren't as big as traditional warships, and you had your own problems to deal with. But even so, they are the only reason why we were able to defeat the Abyssals at Tangier so quickly. If not for them, things could have been much worse."

Drake sat silently. This was all new information to him, but thinking back on it, it made sense.

"That is why the Kancolle Program is so important. They are far more effective than any sort of conventional weapon, and we don't stand a chance against the Abyssals without them. Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir. Though I do have one question… How many ship girls do we have? Or is one enough to beat back an entire Abyssal fleet?"

"No, one is not nearly enough," Admiral Cassius answered. "I believe we had four between the Italians and us back at Tangier, and that was just against a small Abyssal fleet. When we encounter a fleet of decent size, that number won't cut it. As it stands right now, the the Free Republic of the Unites States has only been able to 'find' two of them, including Iowa. Therefore, our only options are to wait until we can get more ship girls, which is unpredictable and unreliable at best, or to borrow some from other countries."

"So other countries have more than we do?"

"Depends on which country. Most nations have none whatsoever, while others have quite a lot. Japan has the most by far, which is why we are sending you there. We don't know why they have the most, but our best guess is that the importance the Japanese fleet held to the Japanese people during World War II is what caused a greater resonance between them and whatever dimension the ship girls come from. But that's not important. What matters is that with the full implementation of the Kancolle Program, the US and allied nations will form an international pact which states that we will pool together our resources, including the ship girls, in order to protect the world from the Abyssal threat."

"But if we've already entered into this treaty, then what's the purpose of having me go to Japan? Shouldn't this international pact already allow the US to share Japan's fleet?"

"Yes and no. Despite the vast influence we have over Japan's military, the emergence of the ship girls has tipped the balance of power so much so that even the United States cannot just force Japan to give us more ships. The new Japanese Empress has also gained quite a bit of influence thanks to the Great Unrest of 2018, so that just makes it even more difficult for us to exert our influence. That's why we need you to go there and operate as the US representative from the inside. Even if you can't send over more ship girls to the mainland, you can at least further US interests while you're there."

The captain nodded, his brown eyes thoughtful. "But will I have the authority to do anything significant? If Japan won't listen to pressure from Washington, then what can I do?"

"We haven't lost _complete_ control of Japan," Admiral Cassius made sure to point out. "In fact, the base you're being sent to is actually supplied and sustained by the US, so it's in their best interest as well to accommodate you."

"Understood. Will anyone else be going with me, or will I be in charge of the whole base?"

"Well, first let me just say that there are two main Japanese bases in the Kancolle Program," the admiral replied. "The Tokyo Bay Base in Yokosuka, which is the base you are being sent to, is one of them, but the other one is the Imperial Naval Base at Sasebo, and it's also the only one that has seen real combat with the Abyssals. The Japanese ship girls are split among the two bases, so we couldn't convince them to allow an American to take control of half of their fleet even if we are the ones keeping that base running. The best we could do was get you to share command of the Tokyo Bay with two Japanese officers. We tried to get a similar arrangement at Sasebo as well, but they shot us down. The most they will allow us is joint control over the secondary base."

Drake nodded slowly, taking in the information. _So why was I chosen for this? Surely I can't be the most qualified person in the entire Liberation Navy..._

"You must be wondering why we chose you," the admiral suddenly said, again speaking as if he knew exactly what Drake was thinking. "Your grades in the NROTC program and your performance reports from your previous superiors have been stellar, and you speak Japanese, which is a plus, but we both know that your actual experience in the Navy is lacking. You've what, served aboard a heavy cruiser and a battleship? Other than those two tours, both of which were very short, you've done nothing… Even so, I'm sure you're smart enough to figure out why we chose you anyway."

"... Tangier," the captain answered.

"Yes. You are one of the precious few officers who fought against the Abyssals and lived. It was also an impressive feat to survive for so long against them while you waited for reinforcements, so it couldn't have just been luck. Truth be told, the Navy is sorely lacking in anyone with experience against these creatures. That is why we are placing so much responsibility on the shoulders of someone so young. You're very lucky, or unlucky, to have been stationed near Tangier when the attack happened."

The admiral paused briefly before continuing. "One more thing: though you aren't being sent to the main base, the Tokyo Bay Base is still very important considering how close it is to Japan's capital. Because of this, there's likely to be a good number of powerful ship girls there. It is imperative that you be able to gain influence at this base when we inevitably have use for them in the near future."

"I understand. I will not fail, in that case."

Admiral Cassius nodded. "You'll also be pleased to know that high command has decided to promote you to Rear Admiral. I've been promoted to the position of Fleet Admiral as well, so I guess the one good thing about this conflict is that it allows for a ridiculously fast track upwards."

 _Rear Admiral…_

Before the Abyssals appeared, Drake had never even thought of attaining such a rank. He figured that after a few years in the navy, he would retire and then go back to a civilian career. He had intended his time in the navy to be some sort of short character-building experience, but he realized now that this was one of those crucial periods in history that could completely alter the course of civilization. His decision to join the Navy, his aptitude for military tactics, his miraculous survival at Tangier; perhaps this was his destiny all along.

* * *

Three days after his meeting with Admiral Cassius, Drake had been flown to Tokyo in order to begin work as soon as possible. On the plane ride there, he was given a large stack of files to read about the Kancolle Program, so he was a great deal more knowledgeable about his new position than he was when he was first appointed. After arriving at the airport, he was greeted by a pair of IJN officers who chauffeured him over to the base at Yokosuka.

The base itself was fairly large, and it was located in Tokyo Bay, as its name suggested. The cerulean ocean swayed peacefully in the distance, and surrounding the sea in a crescent shape were the various buildings of the base. As the car exited the main road and turned into the base itself after passing through a checkpoint, Drake took a moment to look out the window again before the car descended towards the base. He could make out a large, ornate building in the center of the complex which he assumed to be the command center, and the bustling repair docks with its large cranes and steel beams also caught his eye.

As the car continued down the base's main road, Drake noticed groups IJN sailors milling about. He didn't see anyone who looked like she might be a ship girl, but then again, he didn't really know what he was looking for. The only ship girl he had seen so far was Iowa, an American, so he had no idea if the others looked similar or completely different.

Eventually, the car came to a stop in front of the command center. The large sign on the front of the building read "Administration," and standing outside the edifice was a man dressed in a similar uniform to the one Drake himself wore. However, in addition to a standard naval uniform, the man also had a long, billowing cape and a samurai sword strapped to his side, marking him as a fleet admiral in the IJN. Drake got out of the car after thanking the officers, and he was greeted by the admiral awaiting him.

"Ah, you must be Rear Admiral Richard Drake," the admiral said with a brief salute, his voice gentle and unsure. He spoke in English, and though he had a bit of an accent, his speech was quite good otherwise.

Drake returned the salute. "Yes. Are you the commanding officer here?"

"Yes. I am Fleet Admiral Miiro," he answered quickly. "I am the one in charge of this base. So, ah, welcome."

The American admiral nodded as he looked over the IJN commander. Admiral Miiro had kind eyes and a nervous disposition, and his tan face looked relatively young. Drake guessed that the Japanese admiral was probably somewhere in his early forties or late thirties.

"So then, if you will follow me, I will show you to the administrative building and our offices," Miiro continued, moving towards the building behind him.

As the pair entered the building, the salty sea breeze decided to accompany them as the automatic doors of the building slid open. The lobby was well-lit and spacious, and a pair of receptionists smiled at Drake when he entered. A small cafe sat in the corner of the lobby, its aroma wafting throughout the room.

The two admirals then headed into the elevator, and Admiral Miiro pushed the button for the fifth floor, which was apparently the top floor of the building. After a few seconds, the elevator doors opened into a hallway, and the two continued down it for a bit before Admiral Miiro stopped in front of a large room. He pushed opened the doors, and Drake found himself in what could only be the main administrative office of the Tokyo Bay Base.

The room itself was big, and in the back center of the room was a large mahogany desk which Drake assumed belonged to Fleet Admiral Miiro. However, there were multiple other desks and workstations scattered throughout the space, and there were other occupants as well.

The one who drew Drake's attention first was an exceptionally tall woman with long, silky black hair and piercing red eyes. She was dressed in a short skirt, some sort of red thigh-high leggings, and a tight top which revealed her toned stomach, but what Drake found the most strange was the antennae-like headgear that she wore.

 _She must be a ship girl,_ the rear admiral quickly realized. _No normal sailor would wear that kind of uniform or have eyes that color._

Seated on a desk nearby the ship girl was another woman dressed in the same kind of outfit, though she had short brown hair and green eyes. She smiled cordially at Drake, and he figured she was also another ship girl.

The third occupant of the room was seated at a desk closer to the entrance, and she turned around from her computer and her large stack of papers to take a look at the new admiral. She had black hair and glasses, and though her uniform was different from that of the other two ship girls, Drake was still fairly certain that she was also one of them.

Finally, the last person in the room was seated at a desk in the right corner of the office, and he glanced up when Miiro and Drake entered. His uniform was mostly the same as Admiral Miiro's, save for the cape and sword, but unlike the IJN fleet admiral, his gaze was cold and harsh. He scowled at Drake, and his eyes were fixed in an unforgiving glare even as he stood and saluted.

"Everyone, this is Rear Admiral Richard Drake, the one the Americans sent over," Miiro informed them. "Please introduce yourselves."

The woman with the red eyes and black hair went first, shooting the new admiral a sharp salute. "I am Nagato, name ship of the Nagato-class battleships and the Secretary Ship of this naval base. I look forward to working with you, sir."

Her voice was strong and professional, but what surprised Drake the most was that she spoke in perfect English. Though she confirmed his suspicions about her being a Japanese ship girl, she seemed to have no trouble communicating in plain English, and unlike Admiral Miiro, she didn't even have any sort of accent.

"And I am Mutsu, sister ship of Nagato and another member of the Nagato-class battleships," the brown-haired woman with green eyes said cheerily. "Nice to meet you, Admiral!"

The woman with glasses stood up and saluted as well. "My name is Ooyodo, and I am an Ooyodo-class light cruiser. I handle most of the communications duties at the base, so I hope I can be of service."

The last introduction was the remaining admiral, who Drake assumed was the third person in charge of the base along with Fleet Admiral Miiro and himself.

"I am Rear Admiral Genji. Nice to meet you."

Despite his words, the IJN rear admiral's tone was as harsh as expected. He also spoke in English, and he barely had any sort of accent as well.

"Right… Nice to meet you, everyone," Drake greeted, also in English. _Everyone here is speaking English… What was the point of sending someone who knows Japanese again?_

"Over there is your desk," Miiro said, pointing towards the left corner of the room as everyone else got back to work. "This room is spacious enough to allow for all of us to work together here, which is good because this office serves as a centralized command center. You also have your own private office down the hall just in case, but as you can see, your desk here is fully furnished with a computer, notebooks, and any other sort of office materials you may need."

"I see… So what about my fleet? I assume that I will be given command of a few ships," Drake said, getting straight to the point. He needed to make sure that he wasn't just shoved to the side.

"Of course," Admiral Miiro replied. "The Americans have made it clear that you are to be given joint command of this base, so we do have a fleet prepared for you. Normally we would each command two fleets, so a total of twelve ships, but at the moment, we are bit shorthanded since some of our strength had to be lent to the Sasebo base for a major operation."

Drake nodded. "And what types of ships do you have here? I know Nagato and Mutsu are battleships, but since this isn't the main base, I was worried that we may be lacking in firepower."

"Oh, not at all!" Miiro said. "Though the Tokyo Bay Base does not have as many resources or conventional military equipment as Sasebo, we are not short of ship girls. In total, we possess six battleships, seven carriers, and four light carriers. We also have many heavy cruisers, light cruisers, and destroyers available, though not all of them are part of a fleet since some of them are less experienced."

The Japanese fleet admiral then gestured towards Drake's new desk.

"On your desk should be a file containing the names of the ships under your command, and I have instructed them to wait at the docks so that you can meet them yourself whenever you are ready. I assume you have already been briefed on the basics of the Kancolle Program, but if you have any other questions, please feel free to ask. Once you are done here, you can go to the docks where your fleet is assembled in order to introduce yourself."

"Thank you, Fleet Admiral," Drake said before moving over to his desk and picking up the folder.

He flipped it open and was greeted with the sight of twelve pages, each one detailing the equipment, specs, and backstories of the ships that would be under his command. There was a note which stated that his second fleet was currently at Sasebo and therefore unavailable for now, but all the members of his first fleet were still present at the Tokyo Branch. He also noticed that they only gave him one battleship, which was a bit disappointing, but he had a total of four carriers to work with, so the raw strength was made up by extra airpower.

The American admiral flipped through the pages with interest. He already knew a lot about the IJN in World War II, but it was still an amazing thing to see these historical ships reincarnated as girls who were more or less human. As he looked over their images, which were also attached to the files, he noticed that their appearances ranged from adult women to younger teenagers, something that was also explained to him in the documents he read earlier. Apparently, the smaller ships such as destroyers took the appearance of younger girls while the larger ships, like Iowa, looked like adults.

They were all also exceedingly beautiful, though there wasn't a set explanation for why that was. He assumed it was because the meticulous craftsmanship that was put into the original construction of the ships in WWII somehow reflected upon their appearance as humans, but that was just a theory. In truth, there were many things that were still unknown about the ship girls and the small creatures that accompanied them to this world, known simply as 'Fairies.' Though he and many other researchers would have loved to learn more about them, humanity faced the very real threat of complete destruction at any moment, so there were more important things to focus on.

 _On that note, I should probably get started as soon as possible,_ Drake decided. _I already know how these ship girls train and operate, so I should begin by meeting my fleet and then go from there. I'm still new to this base, so I probably won't be expected to sortie my fleet immediately, but Abyssal attacks have been growing more frequent as of late…_

The admiral thought about the possibility of another massive Abyssal attack as he exited the administrative building and made his way towards the docks. _The battle at Tangier was likely a test. The Abyssals wanted to see how they would fare in a large-scale battle against the humans. They must now know that they would easily defeat a fleet of traditional ships, but the ship girls do pose a problem to them… Even so, it's been almost a year since Tangier, and so they must have gathered enough data on the Kancolle Program by now. Another battle like the one at Tangier is imminent._

Soon enough, the silver docks and the vast blue ocean came into view. The dim sound of cranes in operation buzzed in the background, and the calls of the seagulls and the gentle rock of the ocean added to the soundtrack. Drake walked around for a bit, trying to locate where his fleet was since Fleet Admiral Miiro didn't tell him exactly where to find them. He passed by a few dock workers, all of them dressed in a dark blue uniform and wearing yellow hard hats. Since the workers all wore the same uniform, Drake was able to pick out the uniquely-dressed ship girls as soon as he saw them.

He walked over and saluted as he approached, and the six girls straightened up and ceased talking among themselves when they noticed him.

"Good afternoon," he greeted in Japanese, unsure of whether all the ship girls could speak English or if it was just those in the administrative office. "I am Rear Admiral Richard Drake, and I will be your new commander. Nice to meet you."

"... You're the American admiral?" a ship with dark brown hair tied up in a short side ponytail asked, her expression serious and devoid of emotion. Drake recognized her as Kaga, one of the IJN's famous carriers.

"You speak Japanese?" the girl next to her noticed, and though she wore a similar uniform to Kaga, she seemed much more expressive than her counterpart, her golden eyes glimmering with excitement. She was Akagi, another aircraft carrier.

"What? So I spent all that time practicing my English for nothing?" another one of the ship girls complained. She had long, silver hair and wore a strange-looking uniform, and according to the file Drake had read, he figured she was Amatsukaze, a destroyer.

"Oh? You all speak English too?" Drake asked, curious about the language capabilities of the ship girls.

"We were required to learn it in order to communicate with foreigners," Kaga answered. "We simply use Japanese more often since this base is located in Japan, and we are Japanese ships."

"That makes sense, I guess. So, would you prefer me to speak in English or Japanese?"

"It doesn't matter to me," came the stoic carrier's simple answer.

"Okay, then… I guess whatever you're each more comfortable with individually will be fine," Drake said, not sure of how to respond to her indifference.

"N-nice to meet you, Admiral," the tallest ship present then spoke up in English. She had long, ash-gray hair and a gentle, beautiful face. She also wore an ornate golden hair band, which easily identified her as Haruna of the Kongou-class battleships. "My name is Haruna... Is my English all right?"

"You speak it very well," Drake complemented, causing the battleship to blush slightly. "It always takes me years to learn a language, so the fact that you all know so much already is impressive. Aside from that, I already know who all of you are, so you don't need to introduce yourselves. Though our two countries may have been enemies in World War II, I hope we can move past that and join together to fight the Abyssal threat. Agreed?"

Haruna and the other destroyer, Fubuki, gave him a nervous smile and a nod. Akagi tried to smile as well, but it came out fairly strained and looked more like a grimace. Kaga stared blankly, her face betraying no emotion. Amatsukaze and the sixth member of the fleet, the light cruiser Sendai, just stood there, and Drake doubted they were even paying close attention to what he had said.

 _Looks like this might be more difficult than I thought…_ The Japanese officers had no doubt explained to the ship girls that the US and Japan were now allies and had been for decades, but to someone who killed and was killed by Americans, simple words were probably not enough to completely convince them. It also probably didn't help that Drake came off as cold and unfriendly to most people, and he had been told by many people that it looked as if his brown eyes were fixed in a permanent glare.

"Admiral! Let's sortie tonight!" Sendai called out enthusiastically, ignoring any of the tension in the air. "I haven't had a night battle in a while now!"

"Well, I think we're going to take it easy today since I just got here," Drake replied. "But we will start training tomorrow, so be ready for that. If you have any questions, feel free to ask. Other than that, you're dismissed for now."

The fleet then dispersed slowly, and Drake wondered if those girls would really be able to stand up to the monsters he saw at Tangier. The ship girls certainly didn't look threatening, especially without their weapons on them. Like Iowa, they simply seemed like normal women, and they definitely didn't look like the deadly warships they were supposed to be. Even so, he had no choice but to trust them to be able to defeat the Abyssals. Humanity had no real hope aside from the Kancolle Program, so he had to make sure that he trained them well and came up with an effective strategy to combat the Abyssals.

Drake looked out at the ocean, his dark eyes reflecting the shimmering seas. Images of the death and devastation at the Disaster of Tangier flooded through his mind, and the sea's gentle waving seemed to transform into an angry churning, as if it were filled with the rage and sorrow of all those who were sunk that day.

 _I wonder… When I face the Abyssals again, will I be able to stand and fight, or will the horrors of that day immobilize and drown me?_

The rear admiral sighed as he adjusted his hat and turned away from the sea and the cold reminder of events past.

 _I guess time will tell._

* * *

 _A/N: If it wasn't obvious already, this story takes place in a sort of alternate timeline in the near future, so things like why the the Japanese Navy is called the IJN will be explained later on._


	2. Rebirth II

"So, what do you think of the new admiral?" Amatsukaze asked as she took a seat beside Fubuki in the spacious mess hall of the base.

Fubuki was unsure of how to answer. "I don't know… We've only met him once."

"Not even a first impression?"

"Eh? I don't know," Fubuki repeated, trying to concentrate on her breakfast.

The two destroyers then looked up as Kaga and Akagi approached their table.

"The Admiral wants us at the training ground at eight," Kaga informed them. "Don't be late."

"Y-yes!" Fubuki said hurriedly, shooting a quick glance at Akagi at the same time.

The carriers then moved on, and Amatsukaze pouted as she watched them leave.

"Who put her in charge? The Admiral hasn't chosen a flagship yet!"

"Well, someone has to do it, I guess," Fubuki pointed out.

"Exactly!" a new voice sounded out from behind them, and the pair turned to see Sendai, the light cruiser in their fleet, standing proudly. "And it should be me!"

"No way!" Amatsukaze fiercely replied, getting up from her seat. "I think I should be the flagship! I'm the fastest, after all."

"The flagship position has nothing to do with speed!" Sendai countered. "It should be decided based on whoever is the best at night battles!"

"Guys, we shouldn't be fighting so early in the morning," Fubuki interrupted, trying to get her teammates to calm down. "As a newly-formed fleet, shouldn't we be trying to get along and show the Admiral we know how to work together? He's not going to choose someone who can't even cooperate with the ships in her own fleet as the flagship, right?"

Amatsukaze and Sendai frowned, but they both quieted down after realizing she was right.

"Fine. I'm going to go ahead to the training grounds and impress the Admiral by starting early," Sendai said. "You two can show up whenever."

Amatsukaze glared at the night battle-enthusiast as she left the mess hall, and Fubuki sighed.

"Do you really have to challenge her like that, Amatsukaze?"

"It's not my fault! Everyone underestimates us and treats us like we're weak just because we're destroyers!"

"Well, it is true that we're the weakest type of ship."

"B-but -"

"But destroyers have their uses too. We provide important cover for the larger ships, and they would be unprotected without us drawing some of the fire and shooting back," Fubuki finished. "We just need to show our worth on the battlefield, then everyone will know that we're useful."

"Right!" Amatsukaze agreed as she stood up once more, her fist clenched in determination. "I'm going ahead to the training grounds too! Hurry up and finish!"

Fubuki sighed again as she watched her fellow destroyer run off. She looked down at her soup, then got up to throw out her trash, along with Amatsukaze's. If she was going to get an early start on training, then she better eat lightly beforehand.

The brown-haired destroyer exited the mess hall and began walking towards the training ground, where she would put on her equipment and warm up for the day. She normally just followed the standard training regimen that Nagato developed since she didn't really go on any missions aside from expeditions, but now that she had a new admiral and was actually a part of an active fleet, she figured it would be different, and that her admiral would institute his own training program. As she strolled down one of the roads of the base that led towards the training ground near the sea, she noticed a tall figure approaching.

"Bucky!" Kongou called out, waving at the destroyer cheerfully. "Good morning!"

"Good morning, Kongou."

Kongou patted the shorter destroyer on the head as she grinned and walked beside her. "So, I heard you got a new admiral, desu! An American! Does he speak English?"

"Well, he's American, so yes," Fubuki replied. "He also speaks Japanese, though. He speaks it pretty well, too."

"Oh! Interesting! You'll have to introduce me! Are you going to meet him now?"

"Yes," Fubuki said, somewhat hesitantly. "But shouldn't you be with your own fleet? I'm sure Admiral Genji wouldn't want you to be dropping in on other fleets' training session when you should be at your own."

"Nooooo!" Kongou whined. "My admiral is so sour, desu! I want to see the American!"

"Okay, but -"

"No buts, Bucky! Hurry up and let's go, desu!"

Fubuki sighed for the third time this morning as she continued on towards the beach, reluctantly allowing Kongou to accompany her. When she got there, she saw that the two carriers, along with Sendai and Amatsukaze were already out on the ocean. Amatsukaze and Sendai appeared to be competing in some sort of race, while Akagi and Kaga started on target practice.

"Oh, so this is your fleet?" Kongou said casually as she observed the group. "Haruna was nervous about forming a separate fleet away from me, but you all seem lively!"

"Right… I'm not sure if 'lively' is a good thing, though," Fubuki said, watching nervously as Amatsukaze and Sendai began arguing about something.

"Your admiral isn't here yet?" Kongou asked as she looked around. "Neither is Haruna…"

"I think we're early," Fubuki replied. "You probably don't need to wait around here, Kongou. I'm sure you can see the Admiral another day."

"Nonsense! I'll train with you guys, desu!"

Fubuki couldn't really stop the battleship, so she resigned herself to go along with it. The two then headed towards the large semi-submerged building on the beach which housed the equipment of the ship girls. Each ship had a specific rigging, and there were two pairs of each rigging on the base in case one of them was destroyed and the ship needed to deploy again in a hurry. One set was held in this building, which was reinforced to protect its contents in case of an Abyssal airstrike. The riggings in here were what the girls usually used, and the ship girls usually deployed right from the building itself. If the ship girls needed to be deployed from the sea instead of the base, then the riggings could easily be transferred to another ship or the cargo hold of a plane. The second set of riggings was contained underground, held there in case of a catastrophic attack or accident which destroyed the surface of the base.

Fubuki entered the building and walked into the storage area which held her equipment. The room was dimly lit, but the opposite end of it opened out into the sea, allowing for sunlight to flow in naturally. Engineers and IJN sailors with the proper clearance milled about, paying the ship girls no mind as they entered. Fubuki made her way over to her station, and she stood on top of a platform on the water and pressed a button beside her. She then pushed a second button, letting the machine know that she was going for training rather than an actual sortie. This way, she wouldn't be given live ammunition and could train with the watered-down practice rounds.

The machine whirred to life, taking a moment to scan the destroyer and confirm her identity and that she was in position. A second later, the steel arms of the contraption began rapidly attaching the rigging to Fubuki. An engine, radio, ammunition, and a couple other features were contained in the metal box strapped to her back, and torpedo satchels were strapped to her thighs. Special shoes that allowed her to sail on the surface of the ocean were attached to her feet, and the machine held out her 12 cm gun for her to grasp. She took hold of it and then began sailing off into the sea and towards the training grounds, Kongou following closely behind. The whole process had taken less than ten seconds.

As the two warships neared the area where Fubuki's fleet was training, Amatsukaze noticed them and waved.

"Fubuki! You brought Kongou too?"

"I didn't bring her…" the brown-haired destroyer corrected, recalling how the battleship essentially forced her way into the training session.

"I came to see the American Admiral, desu!" Kongou exclaimed.

Sendai sailed up to the trio, wondering what they were talking about. "Kongou's here…? Are you also part of our fleet? Are you replacing your sister?"

"No! I'm just here to see your admiral!" Kongou repeated, annoyed that everyone was asking her the same thing. "I was born in England, after all, and so was the country of America, right? The Admiral and I share a connection!"

"Huh?" Sendai asked, confused. Her brown eyes then darted past Kongou as she noticed a bit of commotion farther down the beach. "Hey, isn't that your fleet, Kongou?"

The battleship whirled around, then pouted as she realized that her fleet was indeed preparing for its morning training.

"Shit! Admiral Genji is going to lose it if I show up late again! Sorry, Bucky, but I'll have to see your admiral another day!" she then sailed off to join her own fleet, calling out one last thing before she left. "Say hi to your admiral for me, desu! And make sure you say it in English!"

* * *

Rear Admiral Richard Maximilian Drake yawned as he arrived at the portion of the beach that was designated as his fleet's training yard. He had driven there in some sort of golf cart that the base gave him in order to get around, but in all honesty, he preferred to walk places, so he doubted he would be using it much. As the brisk sea breeze shook the sleep from him, Drake got out of the cart and took in the beach. The golden sand glimmered in the bright sunlight, and the ocean shone majestically behind it. The Admiral noticed that most of the members of his fleet were already out on the ocean.

 _Do they always start this early? They're hard workers…_

Footsteps sounded behind him, and Drake turned to see Haruna, the final member of his fleet. She smiled nervously at him, but her expression soon warped to one of mortification as she noticed that everyone else had already started training.

"Oh no, am I late? I'm sorry!"

"You're not late. It looks like they just started early," Drake said.

"I see," Haruna replied with relief in her tone, but she still appeared to be slightly disappointed that they all started without her. "I should go and get my equipment. Excuse me."

As Haruna left to equip herself in her training gear, Drake noticed Kaga and Akagi sailing towards his position. The Rear Admiral walked onto the sandy shore as he moved to meet them, taking great care not to get sand in his shoes. The other ship girls in his fleet also noticed his arrival, and they began following the carriers towards the shore.

Akagi and Kaga sailed onto the beach, stepping out of the water and onto the sand. Their movements were clunky and slow with their gear equipped, but it appeared that they could move around on land if necessary.

"Admiral," Kaga greeted flatly.

"Good morning," Drake said, nodding at the carriers. "You're all here pretty early."

"Better to be early than late," the stoic carrier replied in a business-like manner. "What are your orders for today's training session?"

"Admiral!" Sendai interrupted before Drake could answer, waving as she sailed over with Fubuki and Amatsukaze in tow. "Who are you choosing as your Secretary Ship?"

"... Secretary Ship?"

"The Secretary Ship is essentially your flagship," Kaga provided. "However, since we are no longer inanimate metal ships and now possess human bodies, the Secretary Ship also helps her admiral with his paperwork and other administrative duties. Nagato serves as the Secretary Ship for Fleet Admiral Miiro, and Kongou is supposed to be the Secretary for Rear Admiral Genji's fleets, though it is questionable whether or not she actually does her job."

Drake nodded. "A Secretary Ship sounds really helpful, actually… I wonder who I should choose…"

"I'll do it!" Sendai volunteered, grinning excitedly. "We'll go on night battles all the time with me in charge!"

Amatsukaze frowned. "And what makes you so special! The most qualified ship should get the position!"

"Well, that certainly wouldn't be you if that's the case," the light cruiser countered with a smirk.

"Maybe Kaga should do it for now," Drake interjected, interrupting their argument. He then turned to the carrier. "If you're willing, that is."

She gave him a nod. "If that is your command."

"All right, then. Now that that's out of the way, we'll start the exercises for today when Haruna gets here," the Rear Admiral said, looking past Sendai's frowning face and Amatsukaze's disappointed expression to see the battleship sailing towards them.

"See what you've done? Your whining cost both of us the chance at secretary ship!" Sendai said to Amatsukaze.

"No, it's because you were being annoying about your stupid night battles again!"

Drake watched as the two argued and Fubuki attempted to break them up. He briefly wondered if he should intervene as well, but since Kaga and Akagi did not seem to be paying them much mind and Fubuki was already doing a decent job at separating them, he figured that this was a relatively normal occurrence. Hopefully they would straighten up on a real battlefield.

 _It seems like being appointed Secretary Ship is a high honor,_ the American thought as he watched the argument simmer down. _Though you certainly wouldn't be able to tell from Kaga's expression when I gave her the position._

Haruna finally arrived, apologizing profusely once again for showing up 'late' to their early practice. Drake tried to assure her that it was fine, but the battleship still seemed to be a bit angry at herself for missing out.

"All right," Drake began once they were all assembled. "I already know how you all normally train from the reports I've read, but we're going to do things differently from now on. First of all, how many of you have seen actual combat with the Abyssals?"

The ship girls glanced at each other, and nobody said anything until Kaga spoke up.

"This base is relatively new, so we haven't had much experience. We have seen videos of the Sasebo Base's Abyssal encounters and we have seen them up close a couple times, but they always fled before we could fire off more than a few shots."

Drake frowned. _I knew this base wasn't that experienced, but I didn't expect to be the most veteran one here…_

"Okay then… Looks like we really are starting from zero. Luckily for you, I myself have fought the Abyssals and survived, and I've spent the past year studying their movements, their abilities, and their tactics, so you'll be prepared once I'm done with you… But for now, let's just start with some laps around the base's perimeter."

Kaga nodded. "Understood. Should we leave our rigging here on the beach?"

"No."

"W-what? Are we running with our equipment on?" Haruna asked, clearly not very thrilled at the prospect of lugging her huge guns around on land.

"All of it except for your water skis," Drake replied with a smirk. "I never said this training would be easy. Haruna, you run only three laps since you have the heaviest equipment. Kaga and Akagi, you two run four. Destroyers and light cruiser, since you have the lightest equipment you're running five.. Now get moving."

The ship girls reluctantly began taking off the attachments on their feet which allowed them to float on the water, clumsily bending over and detaching the metal straps. Once that was done, they began lightly jogging away from the beach and towards the road which wrapped around the entire naval base, Akagi and Kaga in the lead and Haruna lagging behind.

"Be quick about it! This is only the first exercise for today," Drake called out after them. "Also, I'll be following behind you in that cart, so don't even think about slacking off!"

* * *

The early afternoon sun shone brightly overhead, and Rear Admiral Richard Drake stood on the beach in front of his fleet, his arms crossed and a frown on his face.

"That was quite a poor showing," he said, watching as the six ship girls panted as they lay on the beach, empty water bottles strewn out around them.

The run around the base hadn't gone very well. Haruna had tripped and fallen at the end of the second lap, and she didn't have the strength to get up after running so much, forcing Drake to have to unstrap her rigging and allow her to rest. Kaga and Akagi had managed three laps, but they looked as if their bodies would completely give out if they ran any farther, so Drake just told them to stop at that. Sendai, Fubuki, and Amatsukaze had made it four laps before they all collapsed and refused to move.

"M-my legs feel like jelly," Amatsukaze complained she lay on the sand, sweat streaming down her face and sticking her silver hair to her face.

Akagi groaned. "I feel like I'm about to throw up… Urgh…"

Drake sighed. "Your endurance needs to be incredibly good if you want to fight the Abyssals. What if you get caught in a day-long battle against a huge enemy fleet? What if it bleeds into the night? Now that you're all in more or less human bodies, you can feel fatigue. You aren't ships of steel anymore, so you can't just go on fighting all day and night without getting tired."

The Rear Admiral was met with only panting and groans of discomfort as he finished speaking, causing him to shut his eyes and pinch the bridge of his nose in frustration. "I'll let you rest for fifteen more minutes. After that, put your equipment on and get back on the ocean. We're doing close quarters combat next."

"Why… Why do we need that? Our ranged weapons are our main defense against the Abyssals," Kaga asked between breaths.

"And what happens if you're reloading? What if you can't maneuver your weapons around to hit the enemy because they're too close?" Drake pointed out. He then suppressed a shudder as he recalled the Abyssal with the huge-armed monster he saw at Tangier. "The Abyssals possess formidable close quarters capabilities themselves. It's possible that they may try and engage you in CQC."

The group then stopped complaining, evidently having recognized that such a thing was a definite possibility. Fifteen minutes passed by quickly, and soon enough, Drake's fleet was back to training, though they were moving much more sluggishly than before.

To start off, Drake gathered them on the beach and had them take off their equipment.

"First, we're going to go through some basic moves on the ground so you can learn them before practicing them out on the ocean. Though the Liberation Navy just taught me some of the CQC basics, I think that will be enough for now. Since you're all warships, you have an innate sense for combat, so your instincts will also help you a lot when in CQC once you have the foundation down… Kaga, since you're the Secretary Ship, I'll use you as a demonstration. Please come up here."

The carrier complied, though her blank expression betrayed a hint of uncertainty. She stood across from her admiral, unsure of what she was supposed to do.

"I'll show you all the basics of the American Military's close combat," Drake said, as he squared up his shoulders and lifted his arms in a grappling position. "Prepare yourself, Kaga… Just try not to kill me or anything."

Kaga nodded, raising her fists awkwardly. She felt strange having to fight her own commanding officer on the first day of training with her entire fleet watching, but she decided to give the Admiral the benefit of the doubt and assumed that this would eventually end up helping them.

She was snapped out of her thoughts as Drake closed the distance, and before she could react, she felt herself being lifted into the air. A second later, she was slammed onto the sand, the grains flying up into her face and hair and scattering on top of her clothes.

Drake backed away as he allowed the carrier to get to her feet. _Damn, that was easier than I thought… I was never really that skilled at CQC, but I guess even I'm more effective than someone with no training whatsoever._

"That was just a simple throw," he explained to the group. "The goal is to get your opponent off-balance before you throw her. You can achieve this by kicking out her legs beforehand, or ducking under her reach and using your upward momentum and body weight to lift her like I just did."

The five spectators looked a bit shocked that their new admiral had just smashed one of his subordinates against the ground, but they paid attention nonetheless and tried to learn from the display.

Kaga finally got back up, and other than the disheveled state of her uniform and the sand in her hair, she looked to be undamaged by the move.

"This fighting style ultimately revolves around getting in close to your opponent and preventing her from counterattacking," Drake explained. "It was developed by the US Liberation Military for that purpose, since like you, regular soldiers fight with guns from afar and are rarely in situations where we have to use CQC. However, if we ever do have to use it, we want it to be effective."

He then paused for a bit as Kaga raised her fists again, evidently ready to get back at it.

"Your stance is too rigid," the Rear Admiral told the carrier, causing her to blink in confusion. Drake dropped back into his own stance. "Look at my stance. My arms are slightly outstretched, and none of my joints are locked. This is all so I can engage and disengage at any time with fluidity. If you're using this style, you'll want to be more flexible since it relies primarily on grappling and getting in close to your opponent."

Kaga frowned as she tried to copy Drake's stance, and the American nodded. "That's… Better, I guess. Well, this is just an initial demonstration, so you'll have plenty of time to perfect it later. Right now, try and block my attacks."

Before Kaga could respond, Drake closed the distance again, ducking under the carrier's sloppy, hurried punch and coming right up against her body before rocketing his fist upward and knocking her onto the sand again.

The stoic carrier grit her teeth as she got up and rubbed her chin. Though her skeleton was reinforced with steel and was much more durable than those of humans, her pain receptors did not receive such a big enhancement. Her frowned deepened as she returned to the stance Drake used, refusing to be sent to the ground again.

 _He has been dictating the flow of the battle thus far,_ Kaga thought to herself, _and I know from past experience that it is never wise to allow your opponent to do that. This time, I will be the one who rushes in and strikes first, just as the_ Kido Butai _has always done!_

With a determined glare, Kaga went on the offensive, and she allowed herself a small smirk as surprise flashed in Drake's eyes. However, in her rush to be the one to attack first this time, she failed to put any effort into defense, and so she found herself on the sand for the third time as the American Admiral's leg came up and kicked her in the side of the head with a roundhouse kick. She hit the ground face-first, coarse grains of sand flying up into her open mouth.

"Your legs have a longer reach than your arms," Drake told the spectators as they stared wide-eyed at Kaga on the ground. "So if you ever find yourself being rushed by the enemy and you can't aim your guns in time, distance them with a kick. Just make sure that you don't throw off your balance while doing so."

Kaga stood up again, though this time Drake could detect a tinge of anger in her brown eyes. Deciding that she had taken enough punishment for today, Drake told the carrier to return to the audience before she actually decided to get serious and beat the shit out of him.

"All right, now that you've all seen a basic demonstration, who wants to go next?"

To nobody's surprise, there were no volunteers. Drake was forced to choose a ship at random, and Fubuki was the unfortunate girl picked. The Rear Admiral again demonstrated the basic techniques, adding a few more pointers and moves for the audience as he thrashed the destroyer. He felt a bit bad about beating up a girl who looked to be no older than a teenager, but he knew their bodies could take it and that they would face much worse against an actual Abyssal. After Fubuki's turn, all the remaining ships in Drake's fleet got their very own beating. With the six ship thoroughly trashed and humiliated, Drake sent them off for an hour-long lunch break with orders to return to the training beach afterwards for aquatic training.

As he watched them leave, the officer sighed. _They probably hate me now… But they will learn that it's for the best._ Drake knew just how horrible the Abyssals were, and he would be consider himself a failure if he didn't prepare his fleet for the hell they were about to enter. _Besides, being given command of this fleet… This is my chance for revenge. I will make the Abyssals suffer for what they have done._

His thoughts then shifted to how easy it had been to defeat the ship girls in CQC, especially since he wasn't very good at it in the first place and the girls were supposed to be mankind's greatest weapon against the Abyssals. He guessed that it was just a lack of experience that caused them to fall so easily, especially since they barely ever trained in anything outside of their traditional regimen. It was also obvious that they were holding back, especially in terms of strength. Though he was a lot more muscular and stronger than the average person, Drake knew that a battleship like Haruna could easily kill him with one punch if she hit him in the right place.

 _After lunch we'll be doing the more 'regular' drills, so they should be more at home there… Though I do have some ways to make them a bit harder,_ he thought sadistically. If he was being completely honest, he did glean _a little_ pleasure from bossing them around, just as he had been in his own training in the NROTC and in the Navy itself.

Drake then realized he should probably use this opportunity to eat lunch himself. He briefly wondered where he should go, though there weren't that many places to eat on the base anyway. There was the mess hall, which was the primary place where the sailors and ship girls ate since it was by far the cheapest. However, he hated being in crowded places, so he decided to forgo that option. There was also Mamiya's Shop, which was a sort of restaurant run by the food supply ship girl called Mamiya. The curry there was supposed to be excellent, so it too was a very popular location. Houshou, another ship girl, ran a restaurant as well, though hers was more of a bar or pub based on the description he had read. Finally, there were a few 'regular' stores as well, such as a McDonald's, a Starbucks, and a couple other coffee shops scattered throughout the base and its various buildings.

In the end, Drake decided to try Mamiya's, and he headed in the general direction where he recalled seeing the shop. After a few minutes of walking, he made it to the store. The restaurant was pretty big, and it was divided into two parts. The main section appeared to be just a regular dining area found in most restaurants. Red bricks lined the walls of the establishment, and wooden tables were set up throughout the large atrium. Small trees and plants in pots stood throughout the shop as decorations, and stunning paintings and photographs of the sea and the naval base hung on the brick walls. The space was lit by warm lamps lining the walls, and overall, the restaurant had a cozy, comforting feel to it. Past the main dining area was an open space which connected to the outside, and it was modeled after more traditional Japanese cafes.

Drake briefly wondered if it would be better to sit out there instead of inside, but he quickly changed his mind once he saw Kaga and Akagi seated at one of the tables, the latter with a ridiculously huge amount of curry in front of her. The two were busy conversing among themselves, so luckily they didn't see him.

 _That would have been awkward,_ he thought as he took a seat at one of the empty tables in the main area, which was occupied by various IJN sailors and a few other ship girls whom he didn't recognize.

Drake flipped through the menu, and a few moments later, a waiter came to take his order, so he selected a simple chicken curry and browsed the web and various apps on his phone as he waited.

However, he was interrupted when a harsh voice asked him a question:

"You've seen them, haven't you?"

Drake looked up to find Rear Admiral Genji standing beside his table, his cold, dark eyes boring into him.

"... What?"

"The Abyssals. You've seen them."

"Yeah… You know about that?" Drake asked, a bit surprised even though it made sense that the two other admirals were told about his past deployments. It was the main reason why he had been appointed to this position, after all.

"Every high-ranking officer in the every navy in the world knows about Tangier," Genji replied bluntly. "There were less than a hundred men who survived that battle. You were one of them."

"I was. And…?"

"Nothing. I just wanted to confirm it," Genji said, pulling his cap down a bit further. "I have also fought the Abyssals before, but my experience with them wasn't as large-scale or as bad as what happened at Tangier. Still, those things… Your survival must have either been a stroke of luck or a stroke of genius."

Drake leaned back. "Probably a bit of both… But if you saw them, then I assume you know how dangerous they are. And they're coming for us, and they're coming soon."

Genji nodded. "Yes. We commanders in the Kancolle Program are the first and last line of defense for humanity. That is why I hope that you can live up to your hype, Rear Admiral Richard Drake."

Drake smiled mirthlessly. "Maybe I will, maybe I won't. This enemy is still relatively unknown, as are the capabilities of the ship girls."

"Then it is up to the commanders to see through the fog of war and defeat the enemy regardless," Genji responded, his tone unforgiving. "I don't give a shit that you are an American and not part of the IJN. If you are as good as I think you are, then it's possible this base actually has a chance. Our Fleet Admiral certainly isn't going to help in that regard."

"Oh? You don't like him?" Miiro seemed like a nice guy, and if he was a fleet admiral, Drake figured that he had to be fairly skilled.

"No. He obtained his post solely due to the fact that his family is close to the Empress," Genji explained. "He has never seen the Abyssals up close, and I doubt his tactical abilities."

"Is that so…" That was news to Drake. Fleet Admiral Miiro did seem a bit on the softer side, but that did not necessarily mean he was actually weak. However, Genji seemed to be suggesting that he was.

"Anyway, that is all I wanted to say," Genji finished. "Good luck with your training."

Drake's lunch then arrived, and as he ate, he contemplated the IJN rear admiral's visit. _Strange. He's a lot more cordial than I thought he would be when I first looked at him, though it's clear that he has no respect for those who haven't proven themselves… It appears the command structure of this base isn't as strong as it appears on the surface._

After lunch, Drake headed back towards the beach, though since he had some time left, he spent a while wandering throughout the base and thinking about things. His conversation with Rear Admiral Genji only solidified his resolve to train these ship girls with everything he had, or there could be a repeat incident of Tangier. The thought made Drake shudder as he recalled the horrors he saw that day, as well as the carnage he experienced after walking through the destroyed city afterwards.

 _No… I can never let that happen again…_

When he finally arrived back on the beach, he saw that his fleet was already there. They were putting their equipment back on in order to get on the water, though they looked a lot more haggard than they had this morning, even after their hour-long lunch break.

"All right, as I said earlier, now it's back to the kind of training you're more used to," he began. "For the first couple hours, you'll just be doing the same kind of things you always do, meaning target practice and obstacle sailing. After that, we're working on formations. That means that we're going to practice drilling with a set fleet structure, movements, and objectives. I'll explain in more detail once we get to that point, so for now, just do what you always do… Kaga, before you go, I need to speak with you."

As the rest of the fleet prepared to sail, Kaga walked up to her admiral. "What is it?"

"Since I can't be out on the ocean unless I get on a boat or something, I can't micromanage your training out there. Since you're the flagship, I'm giving you that responsibility instead. From now on, you're in charge of this portion of training. Make sure no one slacks off."

Kaga nodded, then headed out onto the water to join the rest of the fleet. Drake didn't see the need to preside too closely over this part of the training session, as it was mostly supposed to be for the ship girls to improve their skills individually. The more important part of the ocean practice would be the fleet maneuvers, so for now, he just wanted to ensure that everyone was taking their practice seriously and not half-assing it. He doubted anyone would, considering how most of them were actually practicing early this morning, but it never hurt to make sure. Based on the way she carried herself, Kaga seemed to be fairly mature and level-headed, so Drake knew he could trust her with this much.

The two hours went by surprisingly quickly. Drake mainly spent that time sitting on the beach or a nearby portion of the docks, watching the ship girls go through their training. He initially thought it would be boring to just sit there and watch them go through drills, but he found himself strangely captivated by them. Though he had spent hours reading about the Kancolle Program, it was still amazing how these girls were actually the embodiment of the famous warships that fought in possibly the greatest war in human history. With that in mind, he couldn't help but marvel at them.

Eventually, the fleet finished with their individual drillings and returned to the shore. They all looked extremely worn out, which was to be expected considering what they went through this morning. Still, not one of them complained (not to his face, at least). Drake figured that though these girls had never faced the Abyssals in direct combat before, even they realized the danger their opponents presented, which is why they sucked it up and continued onwards. After all, they had already fought in one war, so they were hardened soldiers by now, even if they didn't look like it.

"Okay, last thing for today's training is fleet formations and maneuvers," the Rear Admiral said once everyone had a chance to catch her breath. "I'll start off by explaining the various formations we use since they're probably different from the standard 'line ahead' or whatever that the fleets usually use. I formulated these after my battle with the Abyssals and after reading every report I could get on them, so they should be effective. We'll start off with the most simple one, which I just call 'Standard Formation' because I'm not very good with coming up with names. Basically, this is where the carriers sit in the back and launch their planes while the destroyers, light cruisers, and heavy cruisers engage the enemy in surface action. Battleships play a hybrid role, as they can either shell from afar or rush in and attack, depending on what the situation calls for."

Drake drew the basic formation in the sand with his shoe as he spoke in order to illustrate the general outline.

"Pretty simple, right? We'll try going out with this formation and attacking the moving targets out on the training sea. If there's something wrong, I'll call you back, fix the problem, and then keep going until we get it right."

The rest of the day went by relatively smoothly, and the fleet found the various formations Drake developed to be fairly easy to execute, though they did move a little slowly. He excused their lack of speed since it was their first time learning these maneuvers and they already had a hard day of training beforehand, so all in all, the fleet formation training was a success. Of course, they were only fighting against moving targets fashioned in the shape of Abyssals, so Drake would truly know how good his formations were when they were tested in the crucible of battle.

At around six thirty, Drake dismissed his fleet for the day, their training having concluded. He had the same sort of schedule planned for tomorrow as well, something he was sure his fleet was looking forward to.

 _Oh, well, they'll get used to it,_ he reasoned as he walked away from the training beach and pondered where he should eat dinner.

So far, his fleet looked promising, and though they didn't perform perfectly, he was sure that -

"Admiral," Kaga's voice called out, breaking him from his thoughts. "You never told me what time you would like me to report to your office for tonight."

Drake turned to face her, his expression evidently one of confusion because Kaga decided to further explain herself.

"As the Secretary Ship, I am required to assist you with your administrative duties."

"Ah, right…"

The American Admiral cursed to himself. He had forgotten all about his 'administrative duties,' and considering that he was new at the base, there was probably a ton of paperwork that needed to be filled out to get things in order. If he were smarter, he would have started on it while the ships were doing their individual training, or he should have done it in the morning before training even started.

 _But I just had to sleep in… Years of early reveille back in the US has made me greedy for those extra hours of rest._

Drake briefly thought about just telling her to forget about it for today, but he quickly realized that for someone as serious as Kaga, she would probably take that as an insult rather than be relieved.

"I'll probably start in about an hour," he said, and the carrier nodded before walking off with Akagi.

The Rear Admiral sighed as he resumed his walk, his mood having deflated a bit. He had planned on checking out the base's gym tonight, but considering the paperwork that was backlogged, that was most likely not an option anymore.

 _Ah, whatever. I'll just start extra early tomorrow… Hopefully._


	3. Rebirth III

**_A/N:_** _Just a brief warning: the beginning of this chapter contains a bit of violence/gore. Also, since I'm here, thank you to everyone who has reviewed/favorited/followed so far._

* * *

 _The smell of concrete, dust, and smoke permeated the air of the city, and the shrill screams of the wounded combined with the feeble moans of the dying provided a sickening melody to the grisly scene. The sun began to dip underneath the horizon, casting a pale, red glow over the city as the darkening night slowly encroached upon the vast skies which were filled with Abyssal aircraft mere hours ago._

 _Commander Richard Maximilian Drake cringed to himself as he tried to make his way through what was left of Tangier. He stepped over pieces of rubble and blackened chunks of unknown material, and as he walked through the destruction, sailors and medics from Admiral Cassius' relief fleet sprinted all around him, rushing to get to the wounded._

 _He knew he should be helping too, but he was so tired. It wasn't a physical weakening, but more so an exhaustion of the mind. For some reason, Drake could not focus on any sort of objective, even if it was to just help people clear the rubble and pull the wounded to safety. Instead, the shellshocked commander wandered through the city aimlessly, his eyes seeing nothing and everything at the same time._

 _Passing by a collapsed house, Drake saw a woman trapped underneath a pile of rubble. Most of her body was obscured, but her left arm, which was twisted at a sickening angle, was visible, as was her face, which had contorted into a sort of surprised expression and remained frozen like that after death. Her mouth was open and her eyes wide, as if she were wordlessly calling to someone or something in the sky._

 _The commander continued walking. Next, he saw what appeared to be an infant impaled upon a metal stick. He stopped and stared, unsure of how the baby got there. The metal rod was jammed through its spine and up out of its skull, and there was so much darkened blood that Drake could barely make out its features. As he stood there and watched it, the front half of the tiny corpse slide off, causing the rest of the body to collapse and fall of the metal rod, leaving only a few strands of flesh and a coat of blood on the stick. Drake continued to look at the grisly sight until a dog, its fur blackened by the flames, came by and began picking at the flesh on the ground. Drake chose that moment to move on._

 _He went forwards, his expression blank and his mind in shambles. A loud sound made him jump, and his whole body trembled when he remembered the sounds of the_ USS Freedom's Sacrifice _as it was hit by the Abyssal strikes. He hit the ground as a defensive maneuver, but he slowly calmed down as he realized the noise was just part of a nearby structure falling down. He picked himself off the dirt._

 _After five more minutes of walking, Drake came upon what looked like the remains of a school. He assumed it used to be one because the corpses scattered around the rubble were mostly children. A few were still alive, crying out in agony as medics and sailors rushed around to try and help them. The relief fleet scrambled around the remains of the building, passing by Drake without a word, far too busy to waste time on him or to ask him what he was doing there. The commander surveyed the scene some more, and as he walked, he accidentally stepped on the face of a deceased boy. Half the boy's skull had been severely cracked due to some sort of trauma, so when Drake stepped on it, the weakened skull collapsed completely, enveloping Drake's shoe in blood and brain matter._

 _Drake pulled his foot out and walked towards a spot where two medics were desperately trying to save a girl who was pinned down by a large piece of concrete. When Drake got closer, he realized that 'save' was the wrong word. The girl had been screaming a few seconds earlier, but now her voice had diminished to that of a low gurgle. One of the medics held her hand as the other wiped the blood from her mouth with a towel. The girl gasped, a rough, rattling sound. A second later, she was dead._

 _Stepping away from the school, Drake stared back at the direction of the sea. In a brief moment of clarity, he wondered whether it had been worth it. After all, it had been his idea to withdraw towards the city. He couldn't even claim that the destruction of Tangier was an accident, because getting the Abyssals to bomb the city was an essential part of his strategy._

 _All this because he wanted to survive. He looked back at the school, then recalled earlier in the day when he was lying on the floor of the_ USS Freedom's Sacrifice _at the moment when he thought that the battle was lost and that his time on this earth was up. He took in that feeling._

 _Would he go through that again if it meant he could bring all these people back? Knowing what he knew now, would he be willing to sacrifice himself so that all these innocent people could live?_

 _Drake broke out into a run. He ran away from the school, away from the corpses, away from the destruction he had caused._

 _His answer was no._

* * *

Drake jolted awake, nearly jumping out of his chair as he found himself back in his office at the Tokyo Bay Naval Base. He took a breath, trying to calm himself and rid the images of that day from his mind.

"Are you all right, Admiral?"

He looked over to see Kaga sitting beside him at his desk, staring at him with a mixture of surprise and confusion in her golden-brown eyes. _Oh. I almost forgot she was here._

"Kaga… You're still here? Did I fall asleep?"

"You did, sir. Fortunately for you, I managed to finish your paperwork in the meantime."

"Oh… Thanks."

It was currently late at night, about two weeks after Drake had first arrived at the base. He was stuck doing some paperwork he forgot about (again), so he had to stay in the office after everyone else had left in order to finish it. His ever-diligent Secretary Ship had insisted on staying as well in order to "complete her duties," so luckily he had some help, which he apparently needed since he had fallen asleep on the job.

Drake suppressed a yawn as he stood up and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. "Did you just finish? You weren't waiting for me, were you?"

"I finished a few minutes ago, but you looked like you were in pain, so I stayed behind and tried to decide whether or not to wake you," the carrier answered. Though she was as expressionless and professional as ever, even she couldn't hide the tinges of tiredness on her face.

"Yeah, I was just… Well, anyway, we're done here, so you should get some sleep. Thanks again for your help."

"I am simply doing my job as the Secretary Ship," she stated as she got up. "... But I am curious, what were you dreaming about that troubled you so much?"

Drake looked away. "Oh, that's…"

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't ask such personal questions."

"That's all right," Drake replied, deciding that he could at least tell her a little bit since she stayed behind and finished all his work for him. "I was dreaming about the Battle of Tangier. I'm assuming you know what that is?"

She nodded. "Yes. It is the most infamous battle of the Abyssal Conflict thus far, so all of us know of it. You fought in it?"

"Yeah. I helped hold the Abyssals off until reinforcements arrived. The fact that I survived that battle is actually one of the main reasons why the USLN assigned me here."

"I see. That must have been quite the experience."

"That's putting it lightly," Drake said with a mirthless smile, then yawned. "... Anyway, I'm going to bed. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Don't forget that the ship girls from Sasebo are returning tomorrow," Kaga called after him.

"Yeah, I know," Drake waved her off.

The American admiral exited the Administrative Building and strolled through the naval base, back towards the officer's quarters. The base was quite peaceful at night, and though there were still lamps and lights illuminating most of the base, the majority of the base's personnel was asleep, allowing a sense of quiet to settle over the facility. The gentle rolling of the ocean's waves could be heard in the background, a sound that Drake found comforting. Though he knew of the various dangers that lurked underneath the waves and about all those sailors who perished in the waters, he still found the sea to be extraordinarily majestic. The ocean was something to be feared, but certainly something to be respected as well.

After about a ten-minute walk, Drake arrived at his quarters. It was a small house towards the edge of the base, right next door to Rear Admiral Genji's and Fleet Admiral Miiro's residences, which were basically exactly the same as his own. He pulled out his key and entered, turning on the lights so he could find his way to the bedroom.

The house itself wasn't very big, but it was well-furnished and stocked with modern appliances, such as an excellent kitchen and two flatscreen televisions. It was only one floor in height, but it had a living room, a bedroom, and two moderately-sized bathrooms in addition to the kitchen, so it didn't lack much. The other workers on the base lived in an on-site apartment complex or had to drive in from home, and the ship girls all lived in dorms, so there were definitely perks to being an officer.

Drake changed out of his white USLN uniform and slipped beneath the covers of his bed. He fell asleep rather quickly, and thankfully, he didn't have any more dreams of Tangier that night.

* * *

When morning came, Drake got up, went about his business, and left the house, deciding to head straight towards the beach since he woke late and didn't have time to go to the office and finish up any new paperwork that had been sent to him overnight. He almost never ate breakfast, so he made it to the beach early with about fifteen minutes to spare.

Most of his fleet was already on the water, and those who weren't were probably in the equipment building, preparing for morning training. Drake nodded as Haruna sailed by and smiled at him, her ash-gray hair trailing behind her. Ever since the first day that she showed up 'late' to training, the Kongou-class battleship had made it a point to be one of the first ones on the beach.

"You weren't at the office this morning, sir," Kaga noted as she sailed up to him.

"Yeah, sorry. I slept in," Drake admitted. He felt kind of bad about not showing up, but he _was_ the admiral, and so he didn't need permission from his subordinates if he wanted to change his schedule.

If Kaga was annoyed, her face didn't show it. "The Sixth Fleet should be here sometime this afternoon. I assume they won't be joining us for training?"

"Better to just have them watch for today."

Kaga nodded, then sailed back over to the rest of the fleet as Fubuki and Amatsukaze arrived to complete the six-girl team. The whole fleet then headed towards the beach in preparation for this morning's run.

As Drake watched them land on the sand and take off their sailing shoes, he couldn't help but marvel at how far they had progressed in just two weeks. Now, all the girls were able to complete the morning run, though they still had to rest for quite a while afterwards. In terms of CQC training, they had improved so much so that they no longer needed to train on the beach and could switch to practicing on the ocean instead. Their skill with the fleet maneuvers had also increased, and they functioned like a well-oiled machine, easily adapting to new orders that Drake or Kaga issued during the exercises. Overall, the fleet had gotten much better at everything, and Drake could see why the world governments relied on them as the best weapons to combat the Abyssal threat with.

The rest of the morning's training passed by uneventfully, and when lunch rolled around, Drake decided to head to Mamiya's. He usually either ate there or Houshou's bar, occasionally hitting up the McDonald's as well. He had still yet to visit the mess hall, but he had enough of crowded buildings that served cheap food in high school and college, so he was in no rush to try it out. Mamiya and Houshou had both gotten to know him by now, so he felt comfortable at both ship girl-owned restaurants. Surprisingly, they were pretty friendly with him, which was unexpected because most of the ship girls outside his fleet tended to avoid him because he was American. Mamiya and Houshou didn't seem to mind that, though, and they treated him pretty well for a foreigner.

He usually ate lunch alone, but strangely enough, he had been joined by Rear Admiral Genji a few times. The IJN officer didn't really speak much, which was fine with Drake since he wasn't excessively talkative either, but for some reason, he never felt like the silences were awkward. Though Genji served a different government than he did, Drake felt a sense of camaraderie with his fellow rear admiral, and he suspected that Genji did as well. When they did eat together, their topics of conversation were limited to how to combat the Abyssals and the training of the ship girls, but that was interesting enough for Drake.

Today was not one of those days, though, so Drake ate by himself at Mamiya's restaurant and then headed back to the beach. As per usual, he walked around the base for a bit before returning, and when he got there, his fleet was assembled on the beach.

However, what was new was that another group of girls had joined them. From their appearances, Drake recognized them as members of the Sixth Fleet who had returned from Sasebo and would be the final six ships under his command. One of the girls appeared to be embroiled in some sort of argument with Kaga, but the stoic carrier didn't seem to be taking her seriously at all. When Drake arrived, Kaga promptly saluted, causing the other ship girl to whirl around in confusion and then hurriedly salute as well once she saw that her admiral had arrived.

Drake returned the salute. "You girls must be the Sixth Fleet. I'm Rear Admiral Richard Maximilian Drake, your new commanding officer. Nice to meet you."

The girls all returned his greetings and introduced themselves, though Drake already knew who they were from the information in the file he was given on the first day. The six new girls were: Zuikaku, a carrier with a twintail hairstyle and the one who had been arguing with Kaga; Shoukaku, Zuikaku's sister ship; Suzuya, a heavy cruiser with seafoam-green hair and a confident smile; Yahagi, a serious light cruiser with silky black hair tied up in a long ponytail; Yamakaze, a timid but exceptionally cute destroyer with green hair similar to Suzuya's; and finally, Kashima, a light cruiser and training ship with a kind smile.

The six additions didn't add much bulk to the fleet, but the new carriers further cemented Drake's fleet as the one with the most concentrated air power on the base. Once again, Drake felt a bit of disappointment at not getting another battleship to assist with the long-range shelling duties and destructive power, but he supposed his four carriers somewhat made up for it.

"Right then," Kaga spoke up when the introductions finished. "We will resume training now. The Sixth Fleet will use this opportunity to observe and learn what is expected of them."

"Admiral! Why is _she_ the Secretary Ship?!" Zuikaku demanded to know, pointing an accusing finger at Kaga, who looked nonplussed.

"Huh? I don't know. She just is, I guess," Drake replied, recalling how he made Kaga the Secretary for no real reason other than the fact that she was a carrier and looked like she could handle the position.

"What?! I don't know how you do it in America, but in the IJN, we value skill!" Zuikaku proclaimed. "This is outrageous! We of the Sixth Fleet didn't even get a chance to show up before you made that decision!"

Drake sighed. He could tell already that Zuikaku was going to be difficult. "All right, fine. If any one of you wants to prove that you're better than Kaga both at fighting and at filling out paperwork, then I'll make you flagship instead. For today, just shut up and watch."

That caused Zuikaku to scowl and skulk in silence, and Kaga took that as her cue to lead the fleet back onto the water to finish the day's training. As the Fifth Fleet started up their individual training again, Shoukaku, Zuikaku's sister ship, approached Drake.

"Admiral, please forgive Zuikaku. She doesn't mean to be so abrasive," the white-haired carrier apologized.

"That's all right," Drake assured her. Based on Amatsukaze's and Sendai's reactions when he first made Kaga the Secretary Ship, he assumed there would also be some blowback from the rest of the fleet once they finally returned from Sasebo. "So I take it Kaga and Zuikaku don't usually get along?"

"Unfortunately not," Shoukaku confirmed, her tone disappointed. "Kaga enjoys taunting Zuikaku about how she wasn't part of the First Carrier Division, and Zuikaku isn't one to back down from such slights."

 _Kaga actually enjoys doing something? And that something is making fun of her fellow carriers?_ "I see… Are they like rivals or something, then?"

"I suppose Zuikaku sees Kaga as her rival. As for Kaga herself, I think she sees Zuikaku as a nuisance more than anything," Shoukaku replied as she watched the Fifth Fleet train.

"Why doesn't Kaga like the Fifth Carrier Division? That seems unlike her," Drake asked, voicing his thoughts out loud.

Shoukaku sighed. "It's because of Midway. Zuikaku and I were unable to participate in that battle because of the damage I took at the Battle of the Coral Sea, and so Kaga resents the Fifth Carrier Division for that."

That made sense. If Zuikaku and Shoukaku had been at Midway, the outcome of the battle could have gone very differently, and Kaga and the rest of the _Kido Butai_ would not have sunk. Drake decided that he would have to talk to Kaga about this. Though he could tolerate the petty disputes that Amatsukaze and Sendai often had, an actual grudge between fleetmates would be detrimental to everyone involved.

 _Still, it's strange to think that Kaga of all people even has those she doesn't get along with,_ the rear admiral thought to himself as he watched his flagship loose an arrow towards a target, her short, brown hair dancing in the sea breeze. _Well, I guess everyone has their own personal trauma. Kaga's must be her memories of Midway._

This new information caused him to wonder again if Kaga resented him for being an American, an admiral from the very same country that sunk her in the first place. If she did, then she certainly didn't show it the same way she did with Zuikaku, so Drake assumed that she had no grudge against him. He guessed it was probably because she was mature enough to understand that he wasn't even born when WWII happened, and so she didn't blame him personally. However, for Kaga, it was different with Zuikaku because Zuikaku was essentially the same ship she was back during the war.

"Hey, Admiral! Are we trainin' today?" a loud voice called out, snapping Drake out of his thoughts. He turned to see Suzuya, the heavy cruiser.

"Not today. Since you just got back, it's better if you just observe for now," he answered, causing Suzuya to deflate.

Zuikaku then stood up and walked over to the trio, apparently not wanting to be left out of anything important. "Admiral! At least make me flagship of the Sixth Fleet if you're not going to make me Secretary!"

"Oh, right, this fleet needs a flagship as well, doesn't it?" Drake said, more to himself than to anyone else. Though the Secretary Ship would still be in charge of the combined fleet, he still needed to have someone to lead the Sixth Fleet when they went on sorties without the Fifth Fleet. _But who to choose…? I kind of want to pick Zuikaku just to see what Kaga would do, but I'm sure that would end up backfiring._

"No! I want to be the flagship!" Suzuya protested. "I'm this fleet's only heavy cruiser, so I'm special. Right, Admiral?"

"The Admiral will choose whoever has the most skill," Yahagi, one of the light cruisers, interjected. "Begging for the position won't strengthen your case."

"Exactly; just saying that you should be Secretary won't land you the position. The least you could do is bribe me so I can get something out of it too," Drake added, though after seeing Yahagi's horrified expression, he quickly corrected himself. "But in all seriousness, yeah, I'll need to see all of you in training first. You can make the strongest argument for yourself there."

The rest of the training session went by relatively smoothly. The Sixth Fleet got to watch as Drake and the Fifth Fleet went through their training maneuvers, and the rear admiral also got to spend some time talking with the newest members of his fleet.

They all seemed like capable girls, even if some of them were a bit strange. Shoukaku was kind and respectful, though it was obvious that she also had some troubles of her own hidden within herself. Zuikaku was the complete opposite, as she was boisterous and confrontational, her insecurities clear as day. Though she said numerous times that she refused to lose to Kaga, Drake could see that she looked up to the calm carrier and perhaps even agreed with some of the things Kaga said about her. Suzuya was cocky and loudmouthed as well, though unlike Zuikaku, she seemed to have no personal problems with anybody else in the fleet. Even so, Drake was sure that the heavy cruiser (along with Zuikaku, probably) would eventually join in with the daily clashes that Sendai and Amatsukaze had just because of how their personalities were.

The final three members of the fleet were like Shoukaku in that they were more mature or quiet. Yahagi had a professional and dutiful attitude, and though Drake sensed that she, like most of the ships in his fleet, was a bit uncomfortable serving under an American commander, she seemed resolved to carry out his orders either way. Yamakaze was very shy, and Drake go the feeling that she was trying to avoid him. He didn't see the point in making her uncomfortable on the very first day, so he left her alone for now. Still, it took a lot of willpower to resist reaching out and pinching her cute cheeks… Finally, there was Kashima. She seemed relatively normal, and she was pretty friendly and polite with him, which he liked.

Since the girls had gotten the hang of training by now, they usually finished about an hour earlier than they had on the first couple days, so it was only late afternoon by the time they were done. He dismissed the fleet and headed towards his office, where Kaga would join him after she took a quick bath. They would then do paperwork and finish sometime during the early evening or night depending on how much work there was, and afterwards, Drake would go to the base's gym and do his daily workout before eating dinner and heading back to his house, giving him a couple hours to do whatever the hell he wanted before he turned in for the night.

This schedule didn't leave him that much free time, but to his own surprise, he found that he didn't really mind. Training the fleet didn't feel like work, and he was actually beginning to enjoy it. After all, how many people could say they were in charge of an elite fighting force composed of WWII warships reincarnated in the form of beautiful girls? However, the threat of the Abyssals still loomed on the horizon, and Drake knew that he would have to face it eventually. So far he hadn't heard much regarding the alien enemy, but as he had known from the moment he was sent to the base, that would change soon enough.

Drake arrived at the office to find Ooyodo, Nagato, and Rear Admiral Genji hard at work. He wasn't surprised in the slightest to see them there, as those three seemed to be competing for the position of most dedicated officer or something. The other two office regulars, Fleet Admiral Miiro and Nagato's sister, Mutsu, were absent, but he was sure that they would be in eventually if they hadn't already finished whatever they needed to do for the day. Kongou, Genji's Secretary Ship, was also supposed to be there, but she almost never showed up. In fact, Kongou seemed to spend more time around Drake than her own admiral, as she seemed fascinated that Drake's native language was English and about how America differed from Britain, the country where she had been born.

"Ah, Rear Admiral Drake," Nagato greeted as she noticed him enter. "It's good that you're here. Is Kaga with you?"

"She should be here soon," he answered, and sure enough, the carrier walked through the office doors just as he finished his sentence. Her hair was slightly damp from her short trip to the bathhouse, and she smelled of shampoo.

Nagato nodded. "There is some important information that you need to know. The Sasebo Base's recent expedition into the Pacific and Indian Oceans has revealed the location of structures on various islands that are believed to be Abyssal bases."

"Abyssal bases…?"

"Yes. They were spotted by Indian and Chinese UAVs initially, and the fleet was sent to confirm the sightings. Sure enough, when the Sasebo Base's fleet got close to these islands, they were fired upon by Abyssals," the battleship explained.

Drake's frowned. "So the fleet wasn't able to take out any of these bases?"

"No. It was primarily a scouting mission, so the fleet was under orders not to engage any hostiles. That will come later."

"I am assuming we will be part of that?" Kaga asked, her voice monotone but her expression hard.

"We will. The Sasebo Base will handle most of the bases in the Indian Ocean and south of Japan, but we will need to attack the bases to the east. Right now, International Fleet Command has designated the elimination of these bases as a high priority for the Japanese ship girl fleet. If we strike first, we can prevent the Abyssals from catching us off-guard."

 _So we're finally going to fight…_

"When will this operation take place? And how many bases are we supposed to attack?" Drake asked.

"All the details have not been determined as of yet, but there are four bases that pose an immediate threat to Japan and the coasts of other Asian nations," Nagato replied as she handed a folder to Drake. "There is more information in there. Tentatively speaking, it seems that the Fleet Admiral's fleet will take the two most heavily-defended bases while you and Rear Admiral Genji each attack one. The operation is scheduled for some time next week at the earliest."

"Understood," the American admiral said as he flipped through the folder and took a seat at his desk, letting Nagato get back to her work. With Kaga looking over his shoulder, Drake glanced at the various maps in the file and reports on the estimations of Abyssal strength.

"They're building airstrips," Kaga said once they finished looking through the maps. "Though it looks like they've only completed one so far, with the other three still in progress."

Drake rubbed his chin. "Yeah… But I really think our fleet should lead this sortie since we have the most airpower. Sure, the surface ships can bomb the strips from the sea, but what happens if enemy fighters or bombers manage to launch from the islands? That's a possibility for all of the islands, and a definite for the one with the completed airstrip."

"IJN Fleet Command will not give leadership of the operation to an American," Kaga pointed out bluntly.

"Yeah, but the ship girl fleet is technically an international force, right?" Drake countered. "Though the IJN probably won't relinquish control of an operation so close to Japan and involving only their own ship girls, so…"

"More importantly, we need to make sure the fleet is ready for this sortie," the carrier said. "This will be the first time that most of us will fight an actual battle with the Abyssals, and judging by these reports, it won't be an easy fight."

"I'm sure we'll be ready. That's the whole point of my training, after all."

Kaga didn't seem convinced. "And what about the Sixth Fleet? They have barely been back for a day."

"Well, whatever. We'll have to sortie either way."

"I understand that, but… An unprepared fleet is never a successful one."

"Yes, but this won't be anything like Midway," Drake said, causing a look of surprise to briefly flash across the carrier's face. "The two situations are completely different. We have more than enough information in this case, and there's very little chance of a surprise attack. Trust me, we will be prepared."

"If you say so, Admiral." Kaga's expression was slightly downcast, which was strange considering her usual aloof demeanor.

 _It seems she really does have some pretty bad memories of Midway…_

They spent the rest of the time in relative silence, just filling out the day's paperwork. Most of the paperwork was logistical things, such as how much resources were needed for the day's activities. One of Drake's primary responsibilities was to determine how much resources his fleet used up, and since they hadn't gone on any sorties yet, it was mostly training rounds that he logged. However, even if they didn't sortie, the fleet still used up some basic resources to sustain themselves, and Akagi in particularly consumed a heavy amount of bauxite.

There was also the matter of the weekly reports Drake needed to write. Firstly, International Fleet Command (INFCOM) required the base to submit a summary of its activities, resources, and all that stuff at the end of each week. Since there were three separate admirals at the base, each one wrote his own report and then submitted it to Fleet Admiral Miiro, who, along with the help of Nagato and Mutsu, compiled it into one comprehensive report that he then sent to INFCOM. The Japanese and US governments also wanted a separate copy of the report despite both of them having representatives at INFCOM, so Miiro had to send one to each of them as well. Finally, the US government wanted a specific report written by Drake himself, presumably so that he could talk more freely about his progress at the base and how it pertained to US interests. Kaga seemed capable of handling the INFCOM report, so he had her write that one last week while he just did the one for his own government.

Speaking of Kaga, Drake found that the carrier was as diligent and skilled as he expected, both in training as well as secretarial duties. She wasn't very warm and friendly, but she never complained and she was a quick learner. He supposed he had been right to trust his gut instinct and appoint Kaga as his Secretary Ship.

"Hey, Kaga, who do you think I should make the flagship of the Sixth Fleet?" Drake asked, remembering that he needed to appoint someone to that position as well.

"Anyone but Zuikaku," she curtly answered as she continued reading through a report.

"You don't seem to like her much, do you?"

Kaga frowned. "I don't hate her, but she is irritating and clearly unfit for command of anything. Someone who fails to deliver on the battlefield and yet talks so arrogantly demonstrates a complete lack of understanding about her own flaws."

"Is this about Midway again?"

"So what if it is?" the carrier replied, a hint of annoyance biting into her tone. "You may not think it was a big deal since you Americans won, but it is different for me. You could never understand."

"Maybe not, but I _do_ understand how it feels to fight a battle against a superior enemy and be destroyed by them," the rear admiral said, recalling how he narrowly escaped with his life at Tangier. "I don't mean to imply that Midway isn't significant. But don't you think that you shouldn't hold a grudge for something that happened so long ago?"

Kaga shut her eyes in frustration. "As I said, you could never understand. You weren't even born when the Battle of Midway took place, but for me, it feels as if it were yesterday. Before I came to this time period, my last memories were of the agonizing flames slowly roasting my body as I slipped into the dark sea. Do you seriously think that I would be able to forget such a thing?"

Drake sighed. "Fine, I see your point. But still, it's not Zuikaku's fault that any of that happened. Back then, she was just a ship. She couldn't make decisions for herself, and so she isn't to blame for not being at Midway."

"I know that. My issue is that she speaks as if she is equal to the _Kido Butai_ , who fought, burned, and sunk at Midway. Even if the past wasn't her fault, she is directly responsible for her actions and words in the present."

"But maybe she only speaks that way because she wants to make up for Midway. If she acts like she's strong, then she thinks you'll see her as worthy ally you can rely on in the future."

"I doubt that," Kaga scoffed. "You don't know her. She is a cocky, conceited brat."

"Or you're just confirming your own biases," Drake parried, twirling a lock of his black hair between his fingers. "I'm just saying that you should give her a chance. Now that you're the Secretary Ship of the fleet she's in, you need to be the more mature one and try to work together."

"... If that is your command, Admiral."

Drake sighed softly as he shook his head and returned to his paperwork. _This might be a bit harder than I thought…_


	4. Rebirth IV

The day of the sortie had arrived.

Drake stood at the docks, staring up at the sleek, black ship that would take him and his fleet out towards the objective, designated 'Point R.' The ship's name was the _Espiritu Santo,_ and it was a super jet cruiser, a special type of ship created with similar technology to the bullet train and made specifically for deploying ship girls. Since both the US and Japanese navies worked together to develop her and her sisters, the ship didn't belong to one country in particular. Basically, her main purpose was to carry ship girls and their gear to a set location at a very high speed, drop them off, then retreat to safety. Super jet cruisers lacked any sort of guns and armor in order to keep them light and fast, but that also made them vulnerable to enemy attacks, so they had to be kept away from the battlefield.

Luckily, the _Espiritu Santo_ did have an advanced radar system and a decent sonar aboard which would allow Drake to keep a close eye on the battle even from afar, so he wouldn't have to just send his fleet out there and hope for the best. It was also fortunate that he was far away from the action because of his own fears. After Tangier, he was unsure if he would be able to face the Abyssals again, so he was glad that this time, he didn't have to be in the thick of it.

 _But if there's one thing I don't want to miss… I want to watch those Abyssals suffer. I want them to suffer, just like we did at Tangier…_

"All preparations are ready, sir," the captain of the ship said in Japanese, breaking Drake out of his dark thoughts. He was an IJN sailor with a wrinkled face and a crisp uniform. "We may set sail whenever you are ready."

"Good, thank you," Drake replied, also in Japanese. He found that he didn't need to use Japanese as much as he thought he would when he first came to the base, so it was good to get some practice in whenever he could.

"Admiral," Kaga called out as she walked over. "The fleet is ready to depart as well."

Drake nodded, then turned to the captain. "We'll head out to the rendezvous point now and wait on standby until Fleet Admiral Miiro gives the order to commence the operation."

The captain saluted and headed inside the ship. The fleet's rigging was already inside the belly of the ship, so all that was left was for Drake and his ship girls to board. There would also be some IJN sailors on board to assist the rear admiral if he needed anything, but in general, the operation would just be up to Drake and his fleet. He had already developed a battle plan and made sure the fleet memorized it, and over the past week, he added a few things to his training program to make sure that the fleet was ready.

Firstly, Drake had to ensure that the Sixth Fleet would be physically ready for combat. When he first had them partake in his training, they had run into the same problems the Fifth Fleet had, and the more outspoken girls like Zuikaku and Suzuya made it clear that they were not happy at all with his program. However, the Fifth Fleet was in no mood to allow the new members to slack off, especially since the Fifth Fleet had to go through the same exact training already. Thanks to them, Drake managed to whip the Sixth Fleet into fighting form, and now they were fairly competent in CQC and fleet maneuvers as well.

Drake also added a couple things that were new for everyone, one of which was having the ship girls fight against each other. Now that he had more ships, Drake could have them train against each other in more creative ways. At first he just had the Fifth Fleet and Sixth Fleet face off, but soon he changed it up in order to practice various scenarios and fleet maneuvers. For example, one day he had 'everyone versus the carriers,' and another day he made the capital ships try and hunt down the smaller light cruisers and destroyers.

The second addition to his training program was more of a mental sort of training. Since the ship girls would be up against an unfamiliar enemy, Drake wanted to make sure that they had all the possible information on the Abyssals available to them. Therefore, he held a sort of 'class' about the Abyssal weapons, strategies, and ship types. He also made the fleet take a test on the material afterwards, which again annoyed some of his ship girls, but it was for the best. Drake firmly believed that knowledge is the most important part of the battle, and a lack of knowledge about enemy positions and capabilities was the primary reason why the NATO fleet was destroyed at Tangier.

Finally, there was also the question of who would be the Sixth Fleet's flagship. Although he himself would have overall command and Kaga would still be second only to him, Drake knew he had to select someone to lead his second fleet for future sorties where the two fleets needed to be split up. His battle plan for this sortie also required that the fleets be divided, so he needed someone to command the other portion of the fleet while Kaga was away. Ultimately, he had decided on Shoukaku, the white-haired carrier. She seemed responsible and level-headed, and she was also a good fighter, as she demonstrated during training. Though she didn't show it the same way her sister did, Shoukaku also felt that she had something to prove because of what happened in the past, especially since she was the one who received the most damage at the Battle of the Coral Sea. However, instead of talking back to Kaga like Zuikaku did, Shoukaku showed her dissatisfaction by training harder and fiercer than anybody else. Although Shoukaku was kind and gentle on the surface, during training, her hazel eyes lit up with silent fury, and she shot her aircraft bow with determined strength and precision.

With all that said and done with, Drake was confident that his fleet could handle the upcoming sortie. The airfield he was being sent to destroy wasn't even fully completed yet, so it wouldn't be able to launch Abyssal aircraft. However, he was sure that the Abyssals had shored up formidable defenses around the island after the Sasebo expedition. That foray into Abyssal territory ensured that the aquatic aliens knew that the ship girls were coming, and that they would be prepared to repulse invaders.

 _Still, we already know their approximate strength and the types of Abyssal craft that will be there, so even if they're be on high alert, we still hold the advantage._

Drake stood out on the deck of the _Espiritu Santo_ as the ship cut through the waves and headed towards the rendezvous point. The sea wind was strong, and it almost blew his officer's cap off his head.

" _All fleets are cleared to deploy to their respective targets,"_ Nagato's voice suddenly sounded in the small earpiece that Drake wore.

His fleet (as well as all the other fleets) also had a copy of the earpiece, so they all got the message too. Drake then pulled out the earpiece and changed the settings so that he was now on the frequency specific to the Fifth and Sixth Fleets, and as discussed beforehand, the rest of his fleet should be doing the same below decks. This would allow him to speak to his fleet in case he needed to make changes during the battle, and it would also let his ship girls communicate with him and each other in case they got separated.

The rear admiral headed down towards the ready room where the ship girls' rigging was stored. There he found the members of his fleet milling around, waiting for the large bay door to open and signal the beginning of the sortie. Twelve rigging stations sat stationary behind them, prepared to deploy at any moment. The girls themselves were simply lounging around in the waiting area, some of them seated silently on the white couches and others talking among themselves.

"Admiral," Kaga saluted, standing up as Drake entered. "Any further orders before we sortie?"

"Not really. Just stick to the plan until I say otherwise."

Kaga nodded as she sat back down, her blank face masking her emotions.

"Admiral! Are we going to fight a night battle?" Sendai excitedly asked as she bounded over to her commanding officer.

"It's only about ten in the morning, so no, probably not," Drake replied, wondering why he even needed to answer that.

"Seriously?! Why did the operation have to be this early!"

"Stop complaining," Amatsukaze interjected. "I'd suggest you just shut up and do your job like the rest of us."

"You little -"

"Can you two be serious for once?" Drake interrupted. "This is a real sortie. If you distract yourselves for even one moment, you could end up dead."

The two rowdy ship girls apologized, but not before exchanging heated glares with each other. Drake sighed to himself, hoping that they would take his words to heart. The Abyssals were not an enemy to be taken lightly, so internal conflict could be a death sentence.

Akagi apparently had the same thoughts as she came up to Drake.

"Admiral. About the battle plan… I don't think it is wise to split up the carriers the way you did," she said, her golden eyes disapproving.

Drake frowned. "You mean putting Kaga and Zuikaku in the same group?"

"Yes. You know they don't like each other."

"And so this is the perfect opportunity for them to get over that," Drake countered. "If they work together to defeat a common enemy, maybe they can finally see each other as equals."

"But what if they can't work together? Even in the practice maneuvers we do in training, Kaga and Zuikaku don't have very good chemistry."

"That's practice. This is the real thing. They will work together, or they will sink," Drake simply stated. "The threat of death can get even the worst of enemies to work together. This is the fastest and most efficient way to help the two of them get over their problems."

Akagi was unhappy. "It's too risky. Maybe it would be better to take it slow."

"Maybe. But I'm the Admiral and you're not, so I get to make the decisions."

That clearly pissed her off.

"... That may be true. But be warned that no one here is particularly fond of you or your country. Don't give us any more reasons to dislike you."

Drake sighed once again as Akagi stalked off. _Ah, well, if they follow my orders, I don't really care. I'm not here to make friends with my soldiers, after all._

The occupants of the waiting room then felt the boat slow to a stop, and the captain's voice sounded through the loudspeakers:

" _The rendezvous point has been reached, and the fleet has been given the all-clear signal from Fleet Admiral Miiro. As per orders, the doors to the holding area will now open."_

Sure enough, the bay door slid downwards, revealing the shining surface of the open ocean. The atmosphere in the room immediately turned tense, and the ship girls all moved to their riggings with stiff seriousness.

"All right, then," Drake called out as he shot his fleet a lazy salute. "Good luck. I'll be in touch."

"Wait!"

Drake and his fleet turned around to see an IJN sailor sprinting down the stairs and into the room. He rested his hands on his knees as he hunched over and tried to catch his breath, and a camera dangled from his neck.

"Can I help you?" Drake asked in Japanese, raising an eyebrow.

"Ah, sorry," the sailor said, holding up his camera, "but I was given orders to take your picture with your fleet before you depart."

"Huh?" Drake was never a big fan of stopping for pictures.

"Sorry," the sailor apologized again, but it was clear that he wouldn't leave until they let him take their picture.

Drake sighed for the third time. "Fine. Everyone, get over here. We need to get our picture taken."

The girls jostled each other as they tried to get into position and fit into the picture. The sailor told Drake and Kaga to stand in the center.

"All right, smile!"

The flash went off, and the sailor viewed the image on his camera with a confused frown.

"On second thought, don't smile if you don't want to," he then said, probably having noticed Drake and Kaga's awful attempts. "One last picture! Three, two, one…"

The flash went off again, and the sailor gave the group a thumbs up after checking the image.

Drake turned to his fleet. "Okay, _now_ you can go."

A minute later, the twelve ship girls were out on the ocean and on their way towards the target.

* * *

Kaga scanned the blue waves, dutifully searching for any disturbances that may indicate a scouting Abyssal submarine. She didn't notice anything out of the ordinary as she sailed forwards at the head of the combined fleet, but she also knew that one could never be too cautious. If her experience at Midway had taught her anything, it was to always expect to be surprised.

"Are you all right?" Akagi asked, her golden orbs tinged with slight worry.

"Hm…? I'm fine," Kaga responded in her trademark monotone manner.

"You're not nervous?"

"I've got no reason to be. I trust the Admiral to know what he's doing, and we've trained rigorously for this very moment."

Akagi was silent for a bit before she spoke up again. "Are you sure you'll be all right? With Zuikaku, I mean."

Kaga's lips curled slightly downward. "As long as she doesn't get in my way."

"You two should try to get along, at least for this mission. Arguing with each other could cause you to get hurt."

"Tell Zuikaku that, not me," Kaga said, her voice taking on a hint of annoyance.

"Umm… Excuse me," Haruna interrupted, sailing in between the two carriers. "I think we're approaching the target. Should we get into formation?"

"Yes, please do," Kaga replied, frustrated that she got distracted by her conversation with Akagi.

As they sailed forward, the combined fleet split into two parts. The first fleet was composed of Kaga, Zuikaku, Yahagi, and Fubuki. This fleet would be a sort of surprise striking force, with Kaga and Zuikaku at the center and Yahagi and Fubuki sent along for escort purposes in the unlikely event that they ran into enemies. Their job was to sail in a wide arc around the island and position themselves behind the airfield, undetected by the enemy. They would then wait there until their admiral gave the signal to launch their planes.

The rest of the fleet would be led by Shoukaku, and although they were technically the main force, they would serve as more of a distraction. They would launch an attack on the island simply by charging in and drawing all the attention, allowing Kaga's group to slip by and flank the enemy. Akagi and Shoukaku would start with a bombing run on the airfield and the abyssal fleet on guard. They would then hold out until Kaga and Zuikaku were in position. Though the job of this fleet would be more dangerous than Kaga's, they also had more firepower, especially in the case of Haruna, who would be at the front of the formation in order to dish out and take damage. According to the scouting report from Sasebo, the enemy only had one battleship at this position, so Drake assumed that his fleet wasn't at any great risk of being outgunned.

"All right, we will be heading to our position," Kaga announced as she grouped together with the three other ship girls in her fleet. "Shoukaku, it is up to you to lead the rest of the fleet. Do not fail."

Shoukaku nodded as her sister and Kaga sailed off along with their escorts. She looked up at the sky briefly. _Clear skies today… The bombers should have no trouble finding their targets._

"Launching planes!" she then called out, and she and Akagi notched their bows with an arrow, then let them fly.

The arrows sailed into the air for a couple seconds before exploding into a squadron of miniature dive bombers along with an escort of Zeroes for fighter protection. The plane squadrons, piloted by the mysterious creatures known as Fairies, circled around in the air as Shoukaku and Akagi launched a few more arrows. The formation of planes grew larger, and soon afterwards took off towards the direction of the island in a disciplined and orderly fashion.

After the planes had taken off, the fleet continued onwards in a sort of arrowhead formation. Haruna sailed at the tip of the arrow while the carriers, unable to do anything now that their planes had been launched, sat at the back. The remainder of the surface forces fanned out around Haruna, prepared to provide firing support for the battleship.

A few minutes later, the fleet made first contact with the Abyssals.

"Enemy spotted!" Haruna called out, her golden eyes narrowing as her big, 35.6 twin guns swivelled to take aim.

Shoukaku nodded to herself as the black shapes of the abyssals came into view. "All ships, open fire!"

A flurry of cannon fire rang out as six ships shot their guns almost simultaneously. In the distance, pillars of seawater exploded as the shells landed around the enemy fleet. It appeared as if most of the shots in the initial volley had missed, but that was to be expected. Besides, the main purpose of this fleet was to distract the abyssals, and since the enemy ships were now advancing on their position, the tactic appeared to have worked.

As her fleet continued to sail towards the enemy, Shoukaku was able to get a better look at the opposition. Six demonic, black, whale-looking things jumped in and out of the water as they charged at the ship girls, and Shoukaku recognized them as Ro-class destroyers. Behind them were six column-like figures that appeared to just be giant jaws with big white teeth and cannons jutting out from their bodies. These were Ho-class light cruisers. Behind them were a trio of pale-skinned women with glowing eyes. They carried black sticks with them, and they seemed to be wearing huge black helmets with cannons attached to them. Two of the Wo-class carriers hung back while one of them waved her stick and launched a squadron of sleek abyssal fighters and bombers from her helmet. Since she could remotely control where her planes would go and could keep tabs on them from afar, Shoukaku already knew that the reason why the other two Wo-class carriers didn't launch their own planes was because they were busy flying after her own.

Finally, there were a pair of Ru-class battleships, their giant cannons fixed on the position of the ship girls.

Shoukaku bit her lip nervously. _There was only supposed to be one battleship…_

The sound of cannons filled the air again, though this time, the Abyssals fired back. Most of their shots missed, but the abyssal aircraft were getting closer. The anti-air guns on Shoukaku's hips fired, appearing as puffs of white smoke in the sky. She frowned as she saw the planes simply fly past the anti-air fire.

"Brace for air attack!"

The fleet performed evasive maneuvers while simultaneously firing back at the Abyssals. All around them, the sea exploded as the black aircraft made their dives. As the enemy craft got closer to the sea's surface, Shoukaku was able to position her anti-air guns more accurately, allowing her to shoot down some of them. Luckily, the Wo-class carrier did not land any direct hits on anybody, but there were a few near misses.

"Augh, there's seawater in my eyes!" Amatsukaze called out as she rubbed at them after a bomb exploded dangerously close to her starboard side.

"Enemy fleet incoming!"

The Abyssals were now very close, and they were firing mercilessly. The enemy destroyers jumped in and out of the water like porpoises, firing their guns as they leapt into the air. The light cruisers fired from behind, and the battleships, which hung further back with the carriers, launched long-range projectiles which tore apart the sea wherever they hit.

A destroyer's shell bounced off Haruna's armor as the abyssal leapt into the air a few meters in front of her. Though it didn't do much damage, it still caused her to grunt in pain, and she returned the favor by crushing the destroyer with a savage kick to its stomach.

 _I guess that was quicker than having to position my guns towards it,_ she thought as she realized that her admiral's CQC training did have some use.

"Haruna! You need to do something about those battleships!" Sendai called out, wincing as one of their shells landed close by and drenched her in seawater.

"Yeah! The rest of us can't reach that far, and our guns wouldn't damage it anyway!" Amatsukaze cried out as she swerved to avoid a light cruiser's shell.

"Understood!" Haruna replied as another burst of water exploded beside her, soaking her uniform. _But I didn't know there would be two of them… The carrier planes would be useful right now, but they're attacking the airfield and busy with the enemy aircraft…_

Nevertheless, the Kongou-class battleship resolved herself to her task. Her mouth was set into a thin line as shells burst around her, and she attempted to take aim on one of the Ru-class ships with her 35.6 cm guns. However, just as she locked onto her target, a low whistle sounded in her ears, indicating an incoming shell. To her horror, she saw two shells from the enemy battleships heading towards her. Preparing herself, she stood her ground and fired her own shells, her cannons bursting.

Moments later, the first shell hit her, though due to her speed as a fast battleship, she was able to maneuver so that her rigging took the brunt of the hit. Though she avoided direct damage to her body, the impact of the shell on her left rigging caused her to tilt backwards and towards her portside, leaving her unable to avoid the second shell, which hit her hard in the stomach. With a pained gasp, Haruna was flung a few meters backwards as the shell made contact with her. She skipped along the surface of the ocean for a bit before weakly rising to her feet, her breathing labored.

"Haruna! Are you all right?!" Akagi called out.

"Guh… Haruna is… I am all right," the battleship assured her comrade as she tried to collect herself.

Though she had been hit, she was not out for good, and she coughed a couple times before surveying the damage. Her portside guns were completely trashed, and her main guns on her starboard side had been slightly bent from her hard impact on the ocean, rendering them mostly useless.

 _What bad luck…_ "Shoukaku! Akagi! My guns are finished! I can't fire on the battleships anymore!"

Shoukaku grimaced as she sailed over to Haruna to inspect her rigging. "I see… At least you managed to destroy one of them."

Haruna looked up towards the enemy fleet in surprise, and sure enough, flaming parts of one of the Ru-class battleships littered the ocean, the actual body presumably having slipped into the sea.

"It was a direct hit. Very nice," Akagi complimented. "Though we're now going to have to wait for our planes to return before we can attack the remaining battleship…"

Shoukaku turned her attention to the rest of the battle, which thankfully seemed to be going in their favor. Almost all the enemy destroyers had been sunk, and only half of the light cruisers remained. Aside from Haruna, everyone else in the fleet had only taken minor damage, so they had the advantage.

 _For now, at least. There's not much we can do that battleship, and things will become even more complicated if the Wo-class are able to recover their planes. It's a good thing that the airstrip we're attacking hasn't been finished yet, or else we would have to deal with land-based bombers as well._

Shoukaku was snapped out her thoughts as a shell from the enemy battleship hit the water right next to the three capital ships, sending a tower of seawater into the air and momentarily blinding and deafening them.

"Is everyone all right?" the white-haired carrier asked as the spray settled.

Akagi and Haruna nodded, and the rest of the fleet appeared to be undamaged as well.

"Everyone, watch out for the battleship's shells!" Shoukaku called out to the girls fighting on the front lines. "If one of those hits you, you'll sink for sure!"

Shoukaku frowned as she watched the battleship fire another shell into the air.

 _We just need to hold out a bit longer until our planes return, or Kaga and Zuikaku get into position…_

* * *

"Are we there yet?"

Kaga shot Zuikaku a glare. "No."

"Well, how much longer?"

"... Can you please shut up?"

"The hell? What's your problem?"

"You're asking stupid questions, that's my problem. We will get there when we get there. If you bothered to pay attention during the briefing, you would have a better understanding of the distance to our destination."

"Seriously? Fuck you, then!"

"We should not fight among ourselves," Yahagi intervened, a bit hesitant about getting in between the two riled up carriers.

Fubuki nodded. "I agree. Can you two please try to get along?"

"I am being perfectly cordial. It is Zuikaku who continues to make such crude remarks."

"Well, if you weren't being an ass, I wouldn't have to!"

Yahagi and Fubuki sighed in unison as the two carriers refused to disengage their hostile behavior.

"I just wanted to know when we'll get there, that's all!" Zuikaku yelled. "Our comrades could be dying back there, so is it so wrong of me to want to speed this up?"

Kaga glared at her again. "That isn't the issue. Besides, our comrades are not 'dying back there.' The Admiral wouldn't have sent us away if Akagi and the others couldn't handle themselves on their own."

"Oh, the Admiral, huh? Because he cares so much about our well-being... Did you forget that the Americans are the ones who sunk us in the first place? Or are you just sucking him off now because he made the dumb decision of appointing you as Secretary?"

"I'm warning you, shut up!" Kaga finally snapped, her emotionless facade breaking.

"Please stop, you two!" Fubuki cried, though she knew it was futile.

" _Kaga are you at the destination point yet? You're out of the range of my radar, so I can't tell."_

Luckily, Drake's voice over the radio managed to stop the argument from escalating any further.

"... We will be there in about fifteen minutes," Kaga answered, regaining her calm. "How is the rest of the fleet doing?"

" _I haven't contacted them yet, but judging by my radar, several abyssal signatures have disappeared while all of ours are intact. It looks like it's going well for now, but I don't know how long the fleet can hold out. The vast majority of our bombers were shot down as well, and I don't know if they managed to destroy the airfield or not. I'll check with them and get back you."_

* * *

"Augh!"

Sendai cried out in pain as a shell from an enemy light cruiser collided with her abdomen, sending her flying backwards.

"What are you doing, you idiot?!" Amatsukaze shouted as she watched the night battle enthusiast reel from the impact.

"S-shut up," Sendai said as she slowly recovered from the strike. "I was busy watching the trajectory of that battleship's shell, so I was distracted. You heard Shoukaku: if that bitch hits us, we're dead."

"These enemy light cruisers are annoyin'," Suzuya noted as she sailed up beside her two teammates. "We can take 'em one-on-one for sure, but they've got shelling support from a battleship while we don't have shit!"

Amatsukaze nodded in agreement as she wiped sweat and seawater off her brow. "Something needs to be done about that battleship. We can't fight if we're constantly dodging shells."

"I'm sorry, everyone," Shoukaku said after listening to their complaints. "We weren't able to recover many of our planes from the initial strike, and Haruna's guns are damaged. You'll have to make do with what we have until Kaga and Zuikaku can launch their planes."

"And when will that be?" Kashima asked as she clutched her right arm, which had been broken by a savage hit from a pair of shells. Her usual serene smile was twisted into a grimace of pain.

"... I don't know."

"We can't fight like this much longer," Akagi observed. "We're going to run out of endurance and fuel at this rate…"

"Shoukaku, can't you ask the Admiral what we should do?" Amatsukaze asked her flagship.

"But the Admiral said to hold this position until further orders…" the white-haired carrier said quietly, unsure of whether it was appropriate to bother her commander.

" _Shoukaku, do you read me? How is the situation down there?" Did you destroy the airfield?"_

"Admiral?" Shoukaku said in surprise as Drake's voice sounded in her earpiece. The rest of the fleet's ears perked up as they also received the message through the shared channel, though they had to focus on the battle now that the Abyssals had resumed their onslaught. "The airfield has been destroyed. However, we lost a lot of our planes due to the enemy carriers' counterattack. We did manage to shoot down most of their planes as well, however."

" _That's good, I guess. What about the enemy surface forces?"_

"Most of the hostiles have been eliminated… Though there was one more battleship than we expected, and we can't seem to sink it. It keeps firing its shells at us, and if we have to keep dodging while fighting off the remaining light cruisers, someone is going to sink eventually."

" _Do you and Akagi have any dive bombers left?"_

"No, sir. They were all destroyed in the initial strike. We do have a few fighters remaining, however."

" _All right… Where's Haruna?"_

"Haruna is right here, sir!" the battleship piped up, still sailing at the back of the fleet since her guns had been nullified and she had taken a direct hit from a battleship shell.

" _Okay. Why haven't you taken out the other battleship?"_

"Er… I was hit by a shell and my guns were destroyed," she replied, somewhat embarrassed.

" _I see… And your body? Can you move?"_

"Yes, sir. I took a hit, but I can still sail."

" _Good enough. Go charge that battleship."_

"W-what?"

"Admiral, she'll be a sitting duck!" Shoukaku interrupted. "She can't fire back, so what if she's hit by another shell?"

" _Huh? But she said she could still sail just fine. She won't sink if she pays attention. Send a fighter escort with her as well."_

"Fighters can't defeat an abyssal battleship!" Shoukaku protested.

" _Oh, really? Thank you for that enlightening bit of information,"_ Drake spat sarcastically. " _Just shut up and do as you're ordered. Haruna will draw the battleship's fire while the rest of you finish off whatever abyssals are left. Haruna, once you get close enough, defeat the battleship in CQC. Either that or Kaga and Zuikaku will have launched their planes by then and killed it."_

"But Admiral -"

" _What did I just say, Shoukaku? You are not to question my orders."_

The transmission cut off, and Shoukaku sighed in defeat.

"It's all right, Shoukaku," Haruna assured the carrier, giving her a smile. "I can still sail fairly well. I won't get hit."

Shoukaku nodded as she notched her bow with her last arrow, then fired it into the air. Akagi did the same, and soon, a small squadron of Zeroes began buzzing around Haruna as she prepared to take off towards the battleship.

"Good luck," Shoukaku said.

Haruna gave her a nod, then set off at full speed, cutting through her own fleet, which had heard the entire conversation and made a path for her, as well as blazing past the enemy light cruisers, who were too confused to even attack the battleship.

* * *

"I would ask whether we're there yet or not, but I wouldn't want someone to get her panties in a twist again," Zuikaku said as the quartet continued to sail along the peaceful seas.

Kaga turned around, prepared to lay into her fellow carrier, but before she could reply, Drake's voice interrupted them once again.

" _Kaga, Zuikaku. Launch your planes. The airfield has been destroyed, but there is an enemy battleship that you need to sink. Focus on that as your primary target. The light cruisers and the enemy carriers are your secondary targets."_

"We are not at the destination point yet," Kaga radioed back, confused.

" _The original plan rarely survives first contact with the enemy. I had to make some adjustments."_

"But won't the enemy spot us…?"

" _The remaining surface forces can't do anything to you from this distance, and the enemy carriers don't have much firepower remaining. The only thing you should watch out for are submarines, but hopefully Yahagi and Fubuki can detect them before they arrive. It's best to just launch your planes now."_

"Finally." Zuikaku grinned as she pulled out an arrow and notched her bow.

Kaga did the same, and a few moments and arrows later, the sky was filled with dive bombers and fighter planes. However, the four ship girls watched with confused looks as the planes circled about each other, unable to coalesce into one strict formation.

"Zuikaku, what are your planes doing?" Kaga demanded.

" _My_ planes? What are _you_ doing?"

"I am following the planned formation."

"Huh? Are you dumb or something? Why? The enemy is weakened, so just send our dive bombers on ahead! Organizing a fighter escort's going to take too much time!"

"You imbecile, we must continue according to -"

" _Did you launch yet?"_

Kaga shot Zuikaku a dirty look before responding to her admiral. "No. Zuikaku refuses to get her planes into formation."

"I was just saying that it's better if we don't waste time splitting this huge air force up into individual squadrons! Just send a mass of bombers since it's quicker!"

"And what if you underestimated the enemy's anti-air capability, you idiot? Then our bombers will be -"

" _Can you two shut up? The longer you waste time, the higher the chance for an enemy victory!"_ Drake snarled through the communications channel.

"It's not my fault that Zuikaku does not want to obey the chain of command," Kaga shot back.

"And it's not my fault that Kaga has a stick up her ass!"

" _Shut the fuck up, both of you. Kaga, if you bothered to take a close look at the situation, you would see that Zuikaku is right. Speed is of the utmost priority right now."_

Kaga grit her teeth as she stared the ocean's surface, while Zuikaku grinned haughtily.

"See? I told you you were being stupid!"

" _Didn't I just tell you to shut the fuck up?!"_ Drake roared, causing Zuikaku to recoil a bit from the volume. " _Don't act like you weren't at fault, Zuikaku. You need to learn to respect your superiors. If you have a suggestion, then say it in a way that won't make you sound like an immature brat."_

The two carriers soaked in shame at their commander's rebukes, while Yahagi and Fubuki stood by awkwardly, listening to the whole exchange.

" _... I know you two have some problems with each other, but this is a different time and a different place. There's no room for past grudges here. Kaga, just because Zuikaku wasn't at Midway doesn't mean that she can't fight or that she doesn't know what she's doing. Zuikaku is still a powerful aircraft carrier, and it wasn't her fault that she couldn't be at Midway… And Zuikaku, even though you shouldn't be blamed for it, you should also realize that you weren't at Midway and so you don't know what Kaga went through. Don't act as if you do, and show some respect… That is all. Now, get your damn planes to that battleship."_

* * *

Haruna charged forward, her resolute gaze fixed on the enemy battleship. White seafoam trailed from her skis as she rapidly sailed toward the Ru-class, and she nervously swallowed as she watched the abyssal stop firing towards the rest of the fleet and fix her cannons on Haruna's position. The abyssal carriers, who were stationed around the battleship, stood silently, launching a small handful of fighters out of their helmets that took off and flew towards Haruna.

As the jet-black abyssal aircraft approached, Haruna braced herself. Bullets whizzed in the air around her, and one of her escorting Zeroes went down in flames, leaving a trail of smoke behind. The abyssal aircraft began to fall as well, though her own escorts were taking a beating too.

Suddenly, one of the abyssal fighters banked dangerously towards Haruna, and the battleship inhaled a sharp breath of air as she tried to maneuver away from it. She managed to avoid the fighter's suicide strike, which was aimed at her head, but her portside rigging once again took a hit. This time, however, the impact caused some of the leftover ammunition to burst into flames, creating an explosion.

Haruna shrieked as her entire left side went up in flames. Her knees weakened from the searing pain, but her fuel supply propelled her forward anyway. She grit her teeth hard as she attempted to stabilize herself, even as the white-hot flames licked at her side. The fairies that maintained her rigging would be able to put out most of the flames as long as they didn't spread too much, so she just had to endure the agony and continue onward.

Cringing in pain as she swerved to avoid a shell from the battleship, which was getting closer and closer, Haruna tried to calm herself. _I have to distract this battleship… I have to!_

Even though she knew her orders, her body ached and burned all over, and she wanted nothing more than to collapse and rest. Her heart sank as she watched the battleship reload and prepare for another shot, unsure of whether she had the strength to dodge this time, especially since she was only getting closer to the enemy and therefore increasing its accuracy.

However, her spirits were lifted as she heard the familiar buzzing of planes in the distance.

 _Reinforcements…?_

Sure enough, a large armada of friendly bombers appeared overhead, momentarily distracting the battleship and the Wo-class carriers. The Abyssals quickly realized what was happening, but since the carriers had exhausted the last of their fighters on Haruna, they could do nothing but put up a wall of anti-air fire, most of which completely missed. Haruna sighed in relief as she watched the planes make their dives, most of them focusing on the battleship and completely enveloping the Ru-class in a flurry of explosions. The remaining bombers turned to the carriers, who attempted to evade but were overwhelmed and destroyed as they screamed in pain.

The planes then circled in the air above the flaming remains of the abyssals before turning back the way they came. Haruna let out a sigh of relief as the fire on her portside lessened in intensity, then turned back to return to her own fleet. She sailed back at a much slower pace, but it didn't matter. Without the battleship to assist them, the enemy light cruisers would soon be destroyed.

In other words, the battle was as good as won.


	5. Kido Butai I

Rear Admiral Richard Maximilian Drake leaned back in his chair once he finished reading the after-action reports written by the flagships of his two fleets. Kaga and Shoukaku stood in front of his desk, awaiting his comments. He had called them both in after finishing his reading in order to discuss what the fleets needed to do better for next time, as well as just to summarize the events of the battle.

"So, overall, all three combined fleets were successful in completing their objectives, which means that the mission was a resounding success," Drake began, referring to Rear Admiral Genji as well as Fleet Admiral Miiro. "Still, there are some problems that need to be addressed… The primary one being our battleship situation. How long will Haruna be in the docks for?"

"Akashi said another two days at the very least," Shoukaku replied. "Her rigging was completely destroyed, and she herself suffered some bruised ribs as well as third-degree burns all along the left side of her body."

Drake cringed slightly after hearing that, though the severity of her injuries were lessened by the fact that she could be repaired at the docks with no lasting damage.

"We need another battleship in addition to Haruna," Drake concluded. "We only faced two Abyssal battleships yesterday and suffered this much damage. Right now, the only ship who can really take and give a beating to tough opponents is Haruna. You carriers can't be on the front lines for long, and your planes have to focus on the enemy air power as well."

Kaga frowned. "We can't simply procure another battleship. The only girls at this base who aren't already part of a fleet are destroyers and light cruisers."

"I realize that," Drake said, annoyed both Kaga felt the need to point out something so obvious and at the fact that she was right.

"Then what? We can't keep on sending Haruna out on suicide runs like that," Shoukaku told him, still a bit angry at Drake giving an order like that.

Drake sighed as he ran a hand through his messy black hair. "I'll figure something out… Aside from that, I didn't find any glaring weaknesses in our formation. The report says there were no other major injuries…?"

"Everyone else has fully recovered," Shoukaku reported. "The only other significant injury was Kashima, who had her arm broken by a shell. She is fine now, however."

Drake nodded. "And the resource costs you wrote down here… You're sure those are correct?"

Kaga and Shoukaku both nodded, and Drake grimaced.

"We did fine on ammo and steel, but our fuel and bauxite costs are enormous," he complained. "INFCOM isn't going to like that at all."

"Isn't it your country that supplies most of the resources to this base, sir?" Kaga pointed out. "Surely that should be helpful for you."

"Yeah, I doubt that. My superiors are going to be pissed off that I wasted this many resources and have nothing to show for it."

"But we defeated the enemy."

"Right…" Drake couldn't tell Kaga the US government's main reason for sending him to the Tokyo Branch base, which was to get Japan to lend America more ship girls.

"It seems to me that your strategy this time was simply very resource-heavy, sir," Shoukaku spoke up. "You had four ships take a long detour around the enemy, and the rest of us had to spend fuel performing evasive maneuvers while the abyssal battleship shelled us and we waited for Kaga and Zuikaku to get in position. We shouldn't always have to use this many resources, right?"

"Maybe. You're right that the detour wasted a lot of fuel, and now that I think about it, that tactic wasn't even that necessary, but our massive bauxite costs won't go away anytime soon. We had to rely on our planes to do most of the damage since we only have one battleship, so you carriers will continue to have to do the heavy lifting."

"So an extra battleship really is needed," Kaga said, agreeing with her admiral's earlier statement.

"Yeah, we'll need to do something about that. Anyway, you two are dismissed. I'll handle the rest of today's work by myself."

Shoukaku saluted before leaving, but Kaga stayed behind.

"Admiral… I wanted to apologize for my behavior during the sortie," she said once they were alone. "It was wrong of me to be so abrasive, and I shouldn't have let my emotions cloud my tactical judgement. I am sorry."

"That's all right," Drake replied, not expecting Kaga to apologize for that. "As long as you recognize what you did wrong. Make sure Zuikaku does as well, and try to get along with her. Okay?"

The stoic carrier saluted, then left the big office.

Drake yawned and swiveled his chair to look over at the rest of the office. Ooyodo, who didn't sortie yesterday, was at work as usual with communications, and Rear Admiral Genji sat silently in the corner, going over some documents. Fleet Admiral Miiro sat at his desk in the center of the room with Nagato. The battleship had been injured in yesterday's mission, but she was admirably at work nonetheless.

As he pondered what to do about the battleship problem, Drake's thoughts began to drift back to his home country.

 _To be honest, I doubt anyone in the government will care about my resource costs. The amount isn't that significant in the big picture, and they've got other things to worry about. Besides, this new government seems to really like the Navy… It's only been three years since they took power, but they seem all right so far._

In the year 2018, there had been a monumental worldwide phenomenon called the Great Churning, where the governments of almost every major world power were uprooted and replaced with entirely new ruling parties. All these overthrows practically happened simultaneously, leading some to believe that the uprisings were a globalist conspiracy to unite the world under the rule of a shadow organization such as the Illuminati. However, this was proven false by the fact that these new governments were all incredibly nationalistic and focused strongly on their own country's interests.

The most amazing thing about these worldwide revolutions were that they were largely bloodless. Even three years later, nobody fully understood how exactly these new governments managed to oust the previous political and military leaders so easily. Some say that the new governments merely meticulously planned out their revolutions and enlisted the help of covert specialist freelancer mercenaries, while others insist that they were assisted by an 'otherworldly' force.

Either way, old governments and political systems in countries such as the US, UK, Germany, Russia, China, Japan, and more were all done away with and replaced by these new groups. Each group differed in its composition and preferred political system; for example, America's Citizen's Council proclaimed themselves to still be a democracy, while Germany got completely rid of its old system and established the Fourth Reich under the rule of a new Kaiser. Japan also turned the imperial route and revived its cultish behavior towards the new empress, who was said to be the purest direct descendant of the sun goddess, Amaterasu.

Needless to say, the Great Churning shocked and stupefied the general population. Initially, people were just confused, wanting to know what the hell was going on. After they realized what had happened, there were protests and riots. However, the dissenters did not last long due to a combination of things.

Firstly, all the new governments handled their unhappy populations differently. In America, the people were allowed to protest to their heart's content, but once they realized that the new system really wasn't all that different from the old one and were allowed to vote for their representatives in the newly-established "House of Liberty and Freedom," which replaced Congress, they eventually stopped on their own. In countries like Germany and Russia, which adopted harsher regimes, the protestors were simply 'disappeared,' and things settled down that way. And then there was the case of countries like China, where the people basically just exchanged one politburo for another, so there wasn't much of a difference in the overall system of governance.

The second thing that caused the protests to quiet down was just the general uncertainty in the world. With so many governments changing power simultaneously, nobody knew what would happen next. How would the new governments interact with each other? Was war imminent? What about their nuclear weapons? However, in the end, nothing ended up happening in terms of WWIII. Since the new governments handled the situation calmly and prevented any conflicts from breaking out, they managed to ingratiate themselves with the populace, and they were seen as capable and calm leaders in a turbulent time.

Finally, the most important thing that shut up the dissenters: the arrival of the Abyssals.

Just around the time these new governments took power, the Abyssals appeared. They only started with minor attacks, but their alien appearance and the world's inability to counter them soon caused widespread fear and panic. However, once again, the new governments were able to get a hold on the situation. They all immediately began shoring up their navies, and they did their best to convince the population that they would defeat the Abyssals. With this new and unknown threat emerging, the general population quickly accepted the governments of the Great Churning. After all, desperate times call for desperate measures. Nobody had time to worry about how these governments managed to take power or if what they did was legal if the people were too busy wondering when the next Abyssal attack would be.

However, for this reason, there were those who suspected that the governments of the Great Churning and the Abyssals were connected. It was just far too convenient for these governments to take power and then have a new threat ready and waiting to distract the people. Though this theory may have seemed plausible at first, it was quickly debunked when the new governments began pouring a huge amount of money and resources into defeating the Abyssals. If the Abyssals had truly helped these governments come to power, why would they be attacking each other now?

Still, in Drake's mind, the Great Churning definitely had something to do with the Abyssals and the ship girls. Both of the aforementioned groups appeared around the same time the Great Churning occurred, which could not have been a coincidence, especially considering how much of the Great Churning was still shrouded in mystery. Drake wasn't one of those people who believed that the governments and Abyssals were conspiring with each other, but he did think that maybe the new governments knew about the Abyssals beforehand, and that is why they moved when they did.

Anyway, none of that could be definitively proved, and Drake had more immediate and concrete concerns to focus on. Namely, what he would do about his fleet so he wouldn't have to force Haruna to take a massive beating again.

Standing up from his desk, Drake walked over to the center of the room, up to where Miiro and Nagato were working. They both looked up as he approached.

"Fleet Admiral. I'd like another battleship assigned to my fleet."

Miiro looked confused. "Ah… I'm sorry, Rear Admiral Drake, but we currently do not have any battleships on standby."

"I know. I meant from another fleet," Drake said. Though he was subordinate in rank to Miiro, he wasn't actually part of the IJN, so he didn't feel intimidated by the Fleet Admiral's rank. Genji's words about Miiro as well as the fact that Drake was much bigger and taller than him also made him feel as if he could be free with his demands without having to worry about a rebuke.

"Sir, you can't expect any of the other admirals to agree to that," Nagato said to Drake in place of Miiro.

"Why not? My only battleship almost sunk because she didn't have any surface support. The closest thing I have to another bulky surface ship is one heavy cruiser."

"That may be so, but you have four carriers to make up for that, no?" Miiro pointed out.

"Carriers and battleships have different uses," Drake countered.

"Ah… I do understand your concerns, Rear Admiral, but I am afraid we cannot accommodate your request at the moment," Miiro said, his gentle voice holding an air of finality.

Drake scowled. "Fine. But you'd do well to remember whose country it is that supplies the vast majority of this base's resources, Fleet Admiral."

He then turned around and stalked out of the room.

 _Well, that didn't work,_ he thought to himself as he headed downstairs.

The rear admiral exited the administrative building and walked towards the direction of the docks. The sky was a pleasant blue color, and the sea breeze sailed through the air, carrying its briny scent throughout the naval base. Seagulls called out to each other overhead, and IJN sailors milled about on the grounds below. Drake also walked past a few ship girls as he went over to the docks. The girls had all been given the day off after the successful sortie, so those who weren't injured were able to spend the day doing whatever they pleased. Drake still didn't know all their names, but it wasn't as if they were going around introducing themselves to him. Most of them tended to avoid him, in part due to his cold demeanor and icy gaze and also probably because he was an American.

After a few more minutes of walking, Drake arrived at the entrance to the baths. There were two sections: one for the ship girls, and one for everybody else. The ship girl baths contained special healing properties that allowed them to recover from injuries if they soaked in them long enough. The water was filled with steel and bauxite particles, and the microscopic class of Fairies that lived in the bodies of the ship girls used those resources to patch up any of their wounds. Of course, this process could not heal every type of wound, and so the more serious injuries needed to be operated on by mechanics or the repair ship girl, Akashi, beforehand.

Drake took off his shoes and put on a pair of slippers provided by the bathing facility, then entered the ship girl section. As he lifted the curtain and walked through the entrance, he was greeted with the sight of Mutsu bathing in one of the hot baths nearer to the entrance. When she looked up to see who had entered, her green eyes widened with surprise.

"A-admiral Drake! What are you doing in here?!"

"I'm here to see Haruna," he replied simply. "Is she in here?"

"Y-yes, but… You can't be in here!"

"Why not?" Drake asked flatly, though he knew exactly why she was flustered. "I'm the Admiral. I'll go where I please."

Mutsu blushed furiously as she sunk deeper into the baths. "But… We're bathing in here…"

"I'm aware of that," he said, then continued deeper into the bathhouse.

Most of the ship girls in there had their eyes closed and were resting, but the few who didn't squealed in surprise as they saw him strolling freely through the baths. He ignored them and continued onwards until he spotted Haruna alone in one of the large baths towards the back.

"Haruna."

The battleship whirled around, and Drake saw that her left side was still covered in bandages. Haruna's face reddened as she processed who was standing in front of her, and she quickly stood up and saluted.

"A-admiral!"

Drake couldn't stop himself from staring in shock as Haruna stood up, completely naked save for the white bandages wrapped around her portside. A look of confusion momentarily flashed across Haruna's face before she realized what she had done, and she quickly sat back down into the bath with an embarrassed cry.

"I'm sorry, Admiral!"

"... No need to apologize," Drake said, still a bit dumbstruck. "Anyway, I just stopped by to check up on you. How are you doing?"

"... I am all right," she replied once her embarrassment had died off. "I should be allowed to leave in a couple days."

Drake nodded. "I also wanted to apologize for making you take so much damage. I should have came up with a better strategy. I'm sorry."

"Oh, no, it's not your fault!" Haruna quickly said, then looked down at the water. "... It was my own incompetence that caused me to get hit so many times…"

Drake guessed that she was just being polite, so he decided not to say anything more on that point. "Whoever's fault it may have been, I don't want to risk your life like that again if I can help it. A second battleship would really help in that regard, don't you think?"

"A second battleship…" Haruna repeated, thinking. "Yes, that would be nice. I wouldn't have to draw all the enemy fire by myself."

"Yeah. Unfortunately, procuring a battleship is easier said than done, so it may take some time. But I'm working on it."

The two were then silent for a while, and Drake was about to leave when Haruna spoke up again.

"Admiral… Thank you for coming. I will try and get better soon so I can fight with you all again."

Drake smiled, his cold gaze softening. "Yeah. We'll be waiting for you."

As the rear admiral turned and left the building, he allowed himself another small smile. _I didn't come here to make friends with my soldiers… But I guess it won't hurt if I do._

He wandered about the docks for a bit before deciding to go and get something for lunch. It was about 1300 hours now, and since he didn't have anything better to do besides work, he figured he might as well. However, as he traveled in the direction of Mamiya's, he saw Kaga walking around, her bow slung around her shoulder but no arrows on hand.

She saluted, and he returned it. "What's with the bow? Are you training again?"

"Yes. I thought to improve my aim and shooting speed for short-range targets, especially since us carriers may have to fight on the frontlines in the coming battles," she explained in her trademark monotone.

"That sounds like a good idea… But isn't it your day off? You're going to spend it training?"

"Yes. Is that a problem?"

"No."

"And what exactly are you doing, Admiral?" Kaga then asked. "I wasn't aware you had given yourself the day off as well."

"Oh, shut up," Drake shot back. "I was actually checking on Haruna, if you must know, so I wasn't just wasting time."

"How is she?"

"Like Shoukaku said earlier, she's still damaged. She can talk just fine, though, so it looks like she should recover soon."

"I see," Kaga said, but then a brief look of confusion flashed across her face. "Admiral, did you go into the ship girl baths?"

Drake groaned inwardly. "Yeah, so what if I did? An admiral can't even go inspect his ships anymore?"

"We are not simply 'ships,'" Kaga parried. "We are ship _girls_. You can't just walk into a women's bathing area, Admiral. Though some of us may not show it, we all have feelings and emotions."

"Hmph. I know that. Would I have bothered to even visit her if I didn't?"

The corner of Kaga's lips turned up in a slight smile. "No, I suppose not."

Just then, a low, whiny buzzing sounded faintly in the distance. Wearing perplexed looks, Drake and Kaga turned around and faced the bay and the horizon, attempting to locate the source of the sound. As the noises grew louder, an arrowhead formation of dark shapes emerged in the sky out over the water.

"Planes? Is there an exercise going on right now?" Kaga asked as she narrowed her eyes at the approaching fliers.

However, her words fell on deaf ears. The only sounds that Drake could hear were the buzzing of the planes and the thumping of his heart. His eyes grew wide, and he found that he was unable to move.

 _That noise… I'll never forget that sound!_

"Abyssals," he said quietly, his voice strained.

Kaga's expression turned horrified as she realized that her admiral was correct. "No…! But how? We just destroyed all their nearby air bases yesterday!"

Drake didn't answer, and Kaga bit her lip as the planes drew closer. Air raid warnings erupted all across the base, drowning out the buzzing with a flurry of sirens.

"Admiral, we have to get to cover," Kaga cautioned as she looked around for any nearby buildings. _Damn it, we won't make it…_

She turned back to Drake, but she blinked in surprise as she saw him just standing there.

"Admiral? What are you doing?!" she shouted, grabbing his sleeve. "We have to find cover!"

Drake's terrified brown eyes remained fixed on the rapidly-encroaching bombers, and Kaga cursed to herself as she realized that it was too late to run. The abyssal planes were just overhead, and the sky became dark with their silhouettes.

As the first bombs began to fall, Kaga pushed Drake to the ground, shielding him with her own body, which, unlike his, could take a hit or two from a bomber. Explosions erupted around them, and Kaga winced as something hard crashed into the back of her head. The bursting of concrete and asphalt cracked throughout the air, followed by a single extremely loud explosion. The carrier looked off to her right and saw a large, bright orange fireball erupt into the sky in the distance.

For about half a minute longer, the explosions continued, though now the thumping of anti-air fire also joined in. Kaga continued to press herself on top of Drake, protecting him from potentially lethal shrapnel.

When the bombers finally finished their run and circled back towards the sea, Kaga breathed a sigh of relief and got off her admiral. She frowned as she reached towards the back of her head and her hand came away wet with blood, but she didn't feel as if she had a concussion or anything too serious. The air raid sirens continued to sound for a few more seconds, but soon, they fell silent as well.

"Kaga! Are you all right?!"

The carrier looked up to see Akagi running towards her. Akagi appeared to be undamaged, and her golden eyes were filled with worry as she approached.

"I am fine," Kaga replied, wiping her hand on the back of her skirt.

"Thank goodness," Akagi breathed in relief. "... Is… Is that the Admiral?"

Kaga quickly turned back around to see Drake still on the ground, his normally calm face pale and sickly.

"Admiral! Are you hit somewhere?" Kaga asked as she checked his body for wounds.

Akagi grimaced as she looked into her admiral's wide, horrified eyes. "There's something wrong with him, Kaga."

"There's nothing fucking wrong with me!" Drake snapped as he suddenly lurched himself up into a seated position, the color returning to his face and his breathing stabilizing.

The two carriers jumped back a little at his forceful declaration, and Drake took another breath before shakily getting to his feet.

"I'm perfectly fine…" he insisted, though he didn't know if he was trying to convince Kaga and Akagi or himself. "What… What just happened?"

"Besides the obvious fact that the Abyssals just bombed us, I don't know," Kaga replied as she also stood up. "Unless you have some further information, Akagi…?"

The gluttonous carrier shook her head. "No. I was just outside looking for you when I heard the planes approaching."

Drake grit his teeth in frustration. "But how! What the hell was the point of yesterday's operation, then?"

"Perhaps there was a fourth air base we did not know about," Kaga offered, though they all knew that this was unlikely. Sasebo's air surveillance had been perfect in capturing the location of the small, artificial islands the Abyssals had created, so it was improbable that they completely missed one of them.

"Then could it have been a carrier attack?" Akagi wondered.

"Carriers would have been detected if they were that close to the base," Drake said. "Those had to have been land-based bombers or something if they were able to fly that high and launch from that far away."

"But that makes no sense," Kaga countered, which was unhelpful but true enough. There weren't any nearby islands that the Abyssals had built airfields on.

"So none of us knows anything," Drake concluded angrily. He then turned to his left to see one of the buildings on fire in the distance. "Either way, we should check on the damage to the base first. The gunners and anti-air systems are on high alert right now, so hopefully the Abyssals won't take the risk of launching another attack."

The carriers nodded, and they followed him as he walked back towards the Administrative Building, which was the central command center of the base and therefore the most important structure there. On their way there, Drake saw craters in the ground created by the abyssal bombs. As he got closer to the building, he noticed a pair of IJN sailors, one on top of the other and a huge slab of pavement crushing them both. They were clearly dead, and dark blood seeped out from underneath the smashed-together bodies like sauce from a saturated sandwich.

Flashbacks to the city of Tangier rushed into Drake's mind, and he quickly averted his gaze. His heart beat rapidly, and for a brief moment, he felt lost, as if he were back in the city. He tried to think of something else, but his brain unhelpfully recalled the sounds of the abyssal bombers overhead, and he was immediately transported to the _USS Freedom's Sacrifice_ on that fateful day. He recalled the nauseating lurching of the ship as the bombs hit, threatening to drag him into the abyss at any moment.

Drake stopped walking suddenly, trying to regain his balance. Kaga and Akagi whirled around with concerned looks.

"Admiral… Are you sure you're all right?" Kaga asked, a slight hint of worry creeping into her voice.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine," Drake insisted as he pulled at his collar and gathered his bearings. "Let's go."

Luckily, the Administrative Building itself was unharmed, though there were a few near-misses that tore up the road and sidewalk around the edifice. Drake and his carriers entered the building and found Nagato, Ooyodo, and Fleet Admiral Miiro all standing in the lobby as the frightened employees huddled around them.

Miiro turned to look as Drake entered. "Ah, Rear Admiral Drake. I am glad to see you are safe."

"What just happened?" Drake asked.

"We don't have a clue," Nagato answered as she crossed her arms and frowned. "We've come to the conclusion that those bombers must have been land-based, but we took out all their nearby airfields in yesterday's operation. There is no way that we simply missed an entire airfield, let alone a fully-completed one."

 _So they don't know either…_ "And damages? Were any important buildings hit?"

"The bombing just happened a few minutes ago, so it's difficult to assess damages right now," the black-haired battleship said. "But even so, it looks like we were lucky and escaped any significant damage to our base. A munitions building and one of the ship girl dorms were hit, but the latter shouldn't be a big deal because the bomb only partially collapsed the building, which normally wouldn't be enough to kill a ship girl. As for a general casualty count, we don't have any estimates as of yet."

 _Well, I know that there's at least two,_ Drake thought as he remembered the grisly sight just outside of the building.

"All right, then. Unless I'm needed here, I'm going to check on the rest of my fleet," Drake announced.

Nagato nodded. "The repair and firefighting crews should already be arriving, so there isn't much for us to do at the moment. We will let you know if the situation changes."

Drake and his two carriers walked back out onto the streets of the base, and the rear admiral sighed under his breath as dust and the smell of smoke drifted into his nostrils.

"Do either of you two know where the other ten members of our fleet are?" Drake asked, turning to Kaga and Akagi. "I know Haruna is still in the baths, but I want to confirm the status of everyone else just in case."

"We gave everyone the day off, so they could be anywhere," Kaga said.

"Admiral!" a loud voice suddenly called out, and the trio turned to see Suzuya running towards them.

"Admiral! I was afraid you'd been killed!" the heavy cruiser cried out as she grinned at Drake.

"Why would you assume that I died?"

"Er… I don't know. I just thought it'd be a dramatic thing to say at a time like this."

"Well, since you're here, go check on Haruna in the baths. Make sure she's all right, then report back to me."

"Yes, sir!" Suzuya saluted before running back off in the direction she came.

"Okay, eight more to go…" Drake muttered to himself. "So you guys don't have any idea where the others might be?"

"We could check the restaurants since it's around lunch time," Akagi suggested, her sentence punctuated by a large growl from her stomach. The carrier blushed and chuckled sheepishly.

"... Well, that's a good starting point, I guess. Let's go."

As they made their way towards the restaurant area, Drake noticed a small trickle of blood on Kaga's neck.

"Kaga, are you injured?" he asked, pointing to the back of her head.

"Hm? Oh, it's nothing. It is merely a superficial wound."

Drake felt a pang of guilt as he realized that she must have gotten hurt while protecting him from the bombs and shrapnel. "Still, you should get that bandaged. We'll go to the repair docks first."

"Admiral, I told you that I'm fine," Kaga protested. "Don't underestimate the strength of a Japanese aircraft carrier."

Drake glanced at Akagi, who seemed a bit worried, but since she didn't say anything, he assumed it was fine. After all, it _would_ take a very heavy hit to seriously injure a capital ship.

The three continued walking, and when they got to the plaza in the base that housed most of the restaurants, they saw that the patrons were milling outside. Most of them were ship girls, but there were a few sailors mixed in. The plaza and restaurants themselves were untouched by the bombs, and most of the girls were either standing around unsurely or talking urgently among themselves.

Drake scanned the crowd for anyone in his fleet, and he spotted Fubuki the same time she saw him.

"Admiral!" she called out after separating herself from a small group of destroyers who were dressed similarly to her.

Upon seeing Fubuki and their admiral, Amatsukaze, Yamakaze, and Yahagi also stepped out of the crowd and walked over to Drake and the two carriers.

"Sir, I am glad you are safe," Yahagi said as she saluted.

"What happened? That looked like an Abyssal bombing run!" Amatsukaze exclaimed, her golden eyes filled with worry.

"That's exactly what it was," Drake confirmed. "Anybody here know where the rest of the fleet besides Suzuya and Haruna is?"

"We're here too, sir," Shoukaku said as she and her sister emerged from another part of the crowd.

Drake nodded. "So we're just missing Sendai and Kashima, then…"

"Hey, aren't you going to explained what the hell just happened?" Zuikaku demanded. "How did the Abyssals get their planes this far?"

"Nobody knows," Drake replied, shaking his head and frustrated that he couldn't give a better answer.

"And casualties? What of the damage to the base?" Shoukaku asked.

"We don't know that either. As of now, it looks like the most damage they did was blowing up a munitions building and hitting one of the dormitories."

"W-what? Which one?" Yamakaze asked.

"I don't know," Drake said again, slightly annoyed that they kept asking him questions he didn't have the answers to. "Nagato didn't seem too worried about it, so I assume you girls can survive something like that."

"That really depends on the situation…" Shoukaku said quietly.

Drake sighed. "Well, I can't -"

He paused as he felt a hand on his shoulder, and her turned to see Kaga leaning on him. The carrier quickly removed her hand and looked away.

"S-sorry. I just felt a bit dizzy."

"All right, we're going to the docks," Drake decided, though Kaga frowned at that. The rear admiral turned to the rest of his fleet. "All of you, meet me in my private office in the Administrative Building. Shoukaku knows where it is. I'll be there soon, so tell Sendai and Kashima if you see them on the way."

As the fleet saluted and headed off in that direction, Drake began leading Akagi and Kaga to the docks.

"Admiral, I am fine. It isn't necessary for you to take me to the docks," Kaga insisted once again.

"Better safe than sorry. Do you need me to carry you there?"

"N-no!" Kaga hurriedly replied, a slight blush spreading across her face. "I can walk myself…"

Smirking a little at the carrier's embarrassment, Drake continued back in the direction of the baths and docks. As they walked, they noticed that the streets of the base were filled with a large number of IJN sailors and damage control personnel rushing around. Firetrucks and ambulances could be heard in the distance, and the shouting of men ordering each other around filled the air.

When they got to the docks, they headed to the main hospital, which was run by a staff of doctors, nurses, mechanics, and headed by Akashi, a ship girl whose main duty was repairing other injured ship girls.

The hospital itself wasn't very big and only had two floors, but today, it was packed. Drake watched as a nurse with a stretcher rushed a sailor with his arm blown off past him, and there were a good number of sailors with minor injuries seated in the hospital's waiting rooms. Akashi was nowhere to be seen, so Drake assumed that she was busy helping the human doctors.

"Admiral?"

Drake turned around to see Kashima standing in the lobby.

"So this is where you were. What are you doing here? Are you hurt?" Drake asked.

She shook her head. "No. The light cruiser dorms were hit by one of the bombs, so I was just helping with some of the injured."

"Were there any significant injuries?"

"Thankfully not. Just some minor scrapes and bruises. A few broken bones were the worst of it."

Drake nodded. "I see… Is Sendai here?"

As soon as he said that, Drake felt someone slap him on the back, and he turned to see Sendai grinning heartily at him.

"Admiral! You were looking for me?"

"Yeah. I just wanted to make sure my fleet was still in working order. Also, I told the rest of the fleet to meet in my private office in the Administrative Building, so you two should head there as well. Do you know where it is?"

Both of them gave him clueless stares.

"Fine, I'll take you there myself, unless you need medical attention first or something."

"All right! Let's go!" Sendai cheered. She then turned to two girls sitting some distance away. "Naka! Take care of Jintsuu!"

"Okay!" the girl who presumably was Naka called out. She was seated beside a ship girl with long, brown hair and a gentle expression who was bleeding from a wound on her right shoulder. Both of them wore similar uniforms to Sendai, so Drake assumed they were sisters.

Drake then turned back to the two carriers. "Akagi, make sure Kaga gets that wound fixed and then meet us in the Administrative Building."

As he prepared to exit the hospital with Sendai and Kashima, three people entered, causing Drake to stop. The unusual trio of Kongou, Rear Admiral Genji, and Suzuya strolled through the sliding doors.

"Admiral!" Suzuya called out. "There you are! I've been looking everywhere for you!"

"Rear Admiral Drake," Genji greeted curtly. "I see you're still alive. Where did those airstrikes come from?"

Drake shrugged. "Don't ask me."

"Are you not a carrier officer? I would expect you to have a better understanding of air strikes from sea than the rest of us," Genji said gruffly.

"You'd be wrong, since I'm no carrier officer. I can't even fly a plane."

Genji frowned as he glanced at Kaga and Akagi. "Then why the hell did - forget it. I suppose that doesn't matter anymore. Carry on with whatever you were doing."

"Hellooooo, Admiral Drake!" Kongou shouted before he could hurry out of the building. "Good job surviving, desu!"

"Right…" For the past couple weeks, Kongou had constantly sought out Drake in her free time, wanting to practice her English or ask how America was like. Since Drake was naturally quiet and cold, he was the polar opposite of the energetic battleship, so it was a bit tiring having to deal with her so much.

"Oh, that reminds me," Suzuya interjected. "We checked on Haruna, and she's doing all right. None of the bombs hit the baths."

"Good," Drake nodded. "We're going back to my office in the Administrative Building now. I'm sure the Fleet Admiral will call a meeting there soon enough anyway, and I just want to have everyone in one place for now."

On his walk back to the Administrative Building, Drake recalled the initial moments of the airstrike. He clenched his teeth as he remembered how he had frozen up and trembled like a coward. _Fuck…! How could I be so weak?_

"Admiral… Are you okay?" Suzuya asked nervously. "You look like you're about to tear someone's head off."

Drake quickly realized that he was snarling at nothing, so he returned his expression to its usual cold but calm mask.

"Sorry. I was just thinking about something."

 _Thinking about how pathetic I am,_ he added mentally. _If that's how I'm going to act whenever I'm close to the Abyssals, then what will happen when I need to be part of an actual battle…?_

His brown eyes hardened. _Now that I'm in command of two fleets… Will I just end up killing more people with my incompetence?_


	6. Kido Butai II

Two days had passed since the Abyssals bombed the Tokyo Bay Base. After the attack, Drake, his fleet, and the rest of the uninjured ship girls and officers gathered in the large conference room on the fifth floor of the Administrative Building. Though no one had any solid answers as to what exactly had happened, Nagato, as Secretary Ship of the base, took the opportunity to explain everything that they did know, and to assure everyone that they would look into the situation and figure something out.

Ultimately, it was decided to contact the Sasebo Base's leadership and get their opinion on the surprise attack. While keeping its defenses on high alert, the Tokyo Base set up a video conference with Sasebo, scheduled for today.

Currently, Drake was seated in the Administrative Building's conference room, waiting for the meeting to begin. Beside him was Kaga, his personal Secretary Ship. Fleet Admiral Miiro, Nagato, Ooyodo, and Rear Admiral Genji were also present. Surprisingly, Kongou, Genji's Secretary Ship, was also in attendance, which was unexpected since she usually skipped out on these kinds of meetings.

"Still hurting from that injury?" Drake asked Kaga as they waited.

The carrier glared at him. "It healed mere hours after I acquired it. All the nurse did was put a bandage on it. I told you that it wasn't a big deal."

"I know, but I knew it would annoy you if I asked," Drake replied with a smirk.

Kaga gave him another nasty look, but before she could say anything else. The large screen in the front of the room flickered to life.

"Okay, communications established," Ooyodo said. "It should be connecting just about now…"

Sure enough, four figures appeared on the screen. In the front were the two admirals in charge of Sasebo, the IJN's main base: Fleet Admiral Umi and Admiral Hayama. The Fleet Admiral was a woman in her mid-thirties, and she had shoulder-length black hair and a pair of mischievous, twinkling eyes. She wore the same grandiose uniform as Miiro, complete with the cape and katana. Seated beside her was a young boy who looked as if he were still in middle school. He was short and had unruly black hair, and his face conveyed a feeling of bored annoyance.

Though the tiny admiral was a surprising sight, the two figures behind him were the ones who truly drew Drake's attention. On the right, standing behind Admiral Hayama, was a tan-skinned woman with white hair and a muscular body. She wore a pair of glasses in front of her piercing red eyes, and she was fairly uncovered, only wearing a short red skirt, thigh highs, and bandage wrappings around her chest.

Beside her was another impressive figure. This woman was dressed similarly to the first, though she wore an actual shirt and her thigh highs seemed to be mismatched in length. She had long, brown hair tied in a ponytail, and her gentle, beautiful eyes almost made Drake's heart stop. She was one of the most majestic sights he had ever seen, and he had trouble prying his eyes off her.

He assumed that the pair of women were ship girls, namely the two Secretary Ships of Sasebo: Yamato and Musashi. Drake had read all about their original warship lives, and he could now confirm with his own eyes that they were, at the very least, just as amazing in ship girl form as they were while they were ships. They were both exceptionally tall as well, and Drake estimated that they were about his height. At six feet, Drake was probably the tallest person at the Tokyo Bay Base. The only ones who came close to him in height were Nagato and Mutsu, and they stood about an inch shorter than he did. However, Yamato and Musashi were no doubt taller than even those two, which was an impressive feat considering the height of the average Japanese woman was about five feet and two inches.

"Hello? Is this thing on?" Umi said as she fidgeted with her camera.

"Yes, we can hear you, Fleet Admiral Umi," Miiro answered with a smile.

"Okay, good," she replied as she sat back down. "In that case, let's just get straight to business: your base was attacked a couple days ago by an aerial strike, and you have no clue where it came from."

"Ah… Yes. We suspect it was launched from land-based bombers."

Umi looked perplexed. "That doesn't seem too likely, though. We had you boys destroy all the airfields capable of striking anywhere close to Japan."

"There's always the possibility that your intel was wrong, ma'am," Genji bluntly pointed out, taking no measures to hide his annoyance.

Admiral Hayama looked upset at that, but Umi merely chuckled.

"I suppose there _is_ a possibility, but there's also the _possibility_ that the Earth gets hit by a meteor and we all die and don't have to worry about the Abyssals anymore, is there not?"

Genji scowled, but said nothing more.

"Ah… Anyway," Miiro interrupted, "do you two have any theories on where these planes may have come from?"

Sasebo's Fleet Admiral sighed. "As strange as it seems, I think you might be right in assuming those bombers came from a land base. There's no other way that they could have flown to your base at that altitude and speed… Who's the highest-ranking carrier officer at your base?"

Everyone in the room turned to look at Drake, who blinked in surprise.

"Ah, the American!" Umi called out excitedly. "What was your name again…? Admiral Richard, right. Well, Richard, what do you think?"

"Er… I'm not really a carrier officer, not in the traditional sense, at least," he clarified. "I don't know anything more about planes than you do."

"Oh? That's unfortunate… Then what about that carrier next to you! Kaga, is it?"

Kaga also looked surprised at being called upon. "Well, I am not too sure myself, Fleet Admiral. I believe they also came from land, but if you truly did not miss any enemy airfields, then the Abyssals must possess some sort of mobile airfield that can submerge or hide itself some way."

"So you're saying that they have entire airfields that can submerge just like the abyssal ships themselves can?" Nagato asked.

"I don't know. It is just a guess."

"Hm… That actually makes some sense," Fleet Admiral Umi said. "If they have an entire airfield that can submerge, than us having missed it during our surveillance run is possible."

"A submerging airfield? Please," Admiral Hayama spat. His voice was higher-pitched than everyone else's, but it lacked no confidence. "If the Abyssals possessed such technology for airfields, then why not use it on the ones we destroyed? Why go through the trouble of building regular, non-mobile airfields that can be targeted and bombed?"

"And how did they manage to transport and entire airfield underwater, drag it out from the depths, launch planes, recover them, then submerge again in such a short amount of time two days ago?" Drake added.

The room fell silent for a bit as everyone contemplated the objections. After about half a minute, Umi spoke up again.

"What if it's not an entire airfield? What if it's just something that acts like an airfield?"

"... What?" Genji asked incredulously.

"I presume you all know about the Abyssal Princesses," Umi began. "They are highly-specialized, powerful, and advanced forms of the regular Abyssals. I believe there was one that we now identify as the 'Battleship Princess' at the Disaster of Tangier a year ago."

Drake tensed up slightly at the mention of Tangier, and he immediately knew which one Fleet Admiral Umi was referring to. Red eyes glowing like portals to Hell lit up his mind, and he clenched his fists. He felt sick.

"Anyway, I'm thinking that it could have been an unknown type of Princess who launched the attack," Umi continued. "It would make more sense than an entire airfield submerging and emerging, since she would be more mobile but just as deadly."

"A Princess… Yes, that does sound plausible," Nagato agreed after some thought. "So, what do we do about her?"

Umi smiled devilishly. "Sink her, of course. Since you guys don't have the equipment, our base will send over some UAVs to do more surveillance in the area. We'll spot her, and your base will destroy her."

"But why would this Princess just emerge for no reason?" Drake asked.

"We'll lure her out. You guys will take a super jet cruiser out towards the area of the ocean where we believe the planes came from, along with a carrier and submarine escort. The presence of your ship and your carrier ship girls should goad this Airfield Princess into attacking you, and that's when you'll take her out instead."

"And what if she still doesn't appear?" Genji countered. "Nothing says that she has to still be in the area, or that she has to attack any enemy ship that she sees."

"I guess technically you're right, but I doubt anything you just said is actually true," Umi replied nonchalantly, causing Genji's frown to deepen. "She's probably still in the area. She just delivered an airstrike on one of our bases, essentially catching us with our pants down. Therefore, she's hoping that, in our panic, we have some sort of knee-jerk reaction and send a fleet out on a half-assed battle plan. She'll want to stick around just in case we decide to do something stupid so she can capitalize on it. As for your second point, I'm willing to bet that she does appear when she sees our fleet. Part of the reason goes back to what I just said about her thinking that we're unprepared, but another reason why she would attack us is because we're bringing carriers. A fleet's air power is an essential part of its strength, and she'll think it's the perfect opportunity to cripple us."

"... What if we can't sink her, and she sinks us instead?" Drake said, voicing what everyone was undoubtedly thinking but no one was willing to say.

"Are you saying you're not up to the task, then…?"

Drake bristled. "We have to be realistic. You yourself said that Princesses are extremely powerful, and she probably has some sort of escorting vessels with her as well. It's foolish to assume that victory is assured."

Umi chuckled. "Admiral Richard, I don't know how the US Navy works, but here in Japan, we don't assume that defeat is assured either. You forget that we are in possession of the greatest warships in history reincarnated as ship girls. You, presumably, are also competent enough to have been posted here, so have some confidence in yourself as well. Trust the carriers of the IJN to help carry you to victory."

Drake spared a brief glance at Kaga, but as usual, her face was a blank mask. He sighed quietly to himself as he settled further into his seat. _I guess I can't say anything more. I'd be considered a coward if I continued to doubt this mission._

"So what's our strategy for the actual battle, then?" Genji asked.

Umi shrugged. "Hey, I've done all of the strategizing up to this point. You boys are all admirals; figure it out yourselves."

"Well, thank you for your insight, Fleet Admiral Umi," Miiro said, wrapping up the conversation. "We will commence this operation day-after-tomorrow at the latest, if that is all right with you."

"Yeah, that sounds fine. I'll have the UAVs sent over to assist you as soon as I can, and I'll leave the finer details of the sortie to you."

With that, the connection ended and the projector screen turned a blank black again. Nagato moved towards the front of the room and turned to face everyone.

"We should decide on who is going on this sortie as soon as possible, so it might as well be now," she announced. "Rear Admirals Drake and Genji, since you two command the most carriers and submarines respectively, I think it would be best if you two were to go."

Genji nodded. "Fine with me."

Drake nodded along as well, though on the inside, he was far from enthusiastic. If the bombing run on the base taught him anything, it was that he was clearly not yet over his fear of facing the Abyssals again.

"We should take a small force," Nagato decided. "I actually believe that the Airfield Princess may have launched her attack by herself, and that she does not have any screening vessels. Surface escorts would not help her much, and would only serve to slow her down on a hit-and-run mission. Therefore, I don't think it is wise for us to bring a large force of surface vessels while hunting her, as they will just be sitting ducks for her planes. Is that all right with you two?"

The rear admirals nodded. Fleet Admiral Miiro then stood up and addressed the group.

"I would also like to say something about the ship girls you two should take on this sortie. Rear Admiral Genji, you will of course be bringing along all your submarines. Rear Admiral Drake, though I know you have four carriers in your fleet, I think you should leave Shoukaku and Zuikaku behind and take my carriers instead."

"And why would I do that?" Drake asked. He saw no reason why he should break up his fleet, whose members had trained together under his leadership, so that he could take someone else's ship girls.

"Because my carriers are Hiryuu and Souryuu, the two remaining members of the _Kido Butai_. If we are to form a carrier task force, there is no better than them."

Drake felt Kaga tense up beside him, and when he looked at her, her normally calm eyes were blazing with emotion.

"... If you insist," Drake relented, and Miiro smiled and nodded.

Though he didn't really want to take along two other carriers when he had a pair of perfectly good ones that he had trained himself, Drake decided that it wasn't that big of a deal. With both Kaga and himself out on the sortie, it would be convenient to have Shoukaku stay behind and complete the secretarial duties of the day since she was already familiar with them. Also, judging by the look in Kaga's eyes, she clearly wanted to fight with the _Kido Butai_ again as well. If bringing Hiryuu and Souryuu along would increase Kaga and Akagi's fighting potential, then maybe it was worth it.

They talked a bit longer about preparations for the sortie before heading back upstairs to the office and their own individual duties. When he got to his own desk, Drake let out a breath as he sat down in his chair.

"Kaga, go find the rest of the fleet and tell them about the sortie. I have some business to take care of here."

The carrier saluted and left the building to inform the fleet of the base's response to the Abyssal bombings, and Drake turned to the wired telephone on his desk. He picked it up and prepared to dial, but then realized he didn't actually know the number he wanted to call. He sighed as he shuffled through the drawers on his desk until he finally found a sheet of paper with the information he was looking for.

 _Here it is… INFCOM Headquarters, US Representative's Office._

Drake entered the number into the secure telephone and put it up to his ear, the dull dial tone sounding as he waited for someone to pick up.

" _Hello?"_ a deep voice answered from the other end.

"Uh, hello," Drake replied, unsure of who exactly it was that he was talking to. "This is Rear Admiral Richard Drake. Can I speak to whoever's in charge there?"

" _This is Fleet Admiral Cassius. What do you need?"_

Drake paused in surprise. He thought that voice sounded familiar… "Sir! I don't think you ever told me that you were INFCOM's US representative, and nobody else told me anything either. I was just handed a slip of paper with the contact information."

" _Doesn't surprise me,"_ Cassius replied tiredly, clearly used to dealing with these types of bureaucratic issues. " _Anyway, I'm not actually America's INFCOM representative. I've just been put here temporarily until Fleet Admiral Boston can take over, since he's the one who's actually going to be the rep."_

Drake grimaced. Boston was notorious for being difficult to work with, and despite being a good soldier, he was arrogant, brash, and crude. He wondered who made the decision to appoint Boston out of all the US Fleet Admirals as America's representative on an international stage.

" _You must be wondering why they would appoint Boston to such a position,"_ Cassius said, again displaying his uncanny ability to read people's thoughts. " _Truth be told, I was wondering that myself, but I'm sure the Citizen's Council has a reason. Even though he often goes about it the wrong way, Boston can get things done. There's no doubt about that… Oh, and congratulations on your first successful sortie, by the way, though I'm sure the bombings dampened the mood there. I heard there was no major damage to the base, though…?"_

"Yes, the bombing run didn't do much, thankfully," Drake confirmed. "We're going on another sortie to hunt down the Abyssal Princess that launched the attack soon."

" _A Princess, huh? Good luck with that. To be honest, I doubt she'll even show herself, but maybe it's better that way. As you saw at Tangier, those things are tough… Anyway, what did you call for?"_

"I wanted to see if INFCOM could provide me with another battleship," Drake said, getting straight to the point.

" _A battleship? As in an actual ship, or one of the ship girls?"_

"Like Iowa," Drake clarified. "My fleet only has one battleship right now, so it's kind of tough to operate that way, for obvious reasons."

" _I understand that, but what you're asking is ridiculous,"_ Cassius replied, not bothering to sugarcoat his words. " _You haven't forgotten your objective, have you? One of the main reasons we sent you there was so that you could send over some Japanese ship girls to the States. But based on what I'm hearing from you now, you want to do the exact opposite."_

"That's not what I meant, sir," Drake hurriedly amended before he landed himself into deep shit. "I don't want you to send me a battleship free of charge. The Tokyo Bay Base has plenty of ship girls who aren't part of a fleet, so they're just sitting around doing nothing, basically. I would propose sending a handful of them over to the US, in exchange for Iowa."

" _If there are ship girls just sitting around, why don't you take one of them instead?"_

"They're not battleships, sir."

" _Let me guess: they're all destroyers or light cruisers."_

Drake frowned. "Yes… But that isn't a bad thing. The US has no screening ship girls right now, so we could actually use them. On top of that, sending even destroyers over to the US would establish a precedent for sending ship girls back to America, which could open the door to future transfers."

" _Even so, if we sent Iowa to you, the US would essentially lose half its strength, including all of its heavy surface gunnery. You think operating with one battleship is hard? We would end up with zero if we accepted your proposal."_

"What's Abyssal activity like in the Atlantic, sir?" Drake asked as he leaned back in his chair and twirled a lock of his black hair around his finger. "Unless there has been a huge increase in Abyssal operations in the last month or so that has somehow been kept secret from the public, then…"

Fleet Admiral Cassius sighed. " _Yes, you're right that the Atlantic isn't as active as your area of the ocean right now. But who knows how long that will last? Did you forget where Tangier is located already? The Abyssals have attacked here before, and they will attack here again. We need to be prepared for that moment, and giving up Iowa is the opposite of being prepared… Besides, how the hell would I justify that move to the Citizen's Council?"_

"Use the arguments I just gave to you," Drake told him, growing frustrated. "Sir… I understand your concerns. But you also have the entire European Fleet patrolling the Atlantic, so it's not as if Iowa and Saratoga are the only two ship girls on that side of the world."

" _All right, fine. I will think about it, and I'll bring it up with high command. But be warned that your proposal is likely to be shot down anyway."_

"Please ensure that it is accepted, sir. I only act for the benefit of my country," Drake responded, hoping he sounded genuine. "Also, I would like you to pass this on to the European admirals as well. If you can't send over Iowa, maybe one of them will be able to spare a battleship for the exchange."

" _Okay. Anything else, or was that it?"_

"Is Iowa there? Can I talk to her?"

Drake figured that he might as well try and convince the battleship herself if he could. Now that the warships were girls instead of just hunks of steel, they could be persuaded and reasoned with just like most other humans. If he could get Iowa to want to come to Japan and join his fleet, then that might help his case. He thought he might have a shot at doing so since Iowa seemed to like hanging around him back when he was still in America. In the days before he had flown to Japan, Drake had constantly been badgered by Iowa, who, every night without fail, barged into his room while he was trying to read over reports in order to ask him what he was doing. She would then prevent him from finishing his work by talking about how much America had changed or asking him questions about his own life. Now that he thought about it, Kongou and Iowa were actually very similar in that regard.

" _Iowa isn't with me,"_ came Cassius' reply, though Drake didn't know if the Fleet Admiral was being truthful or if he knew exactly what Drake was trying to pull and therefore purposefully prevented Drake from speaking with her.

"I see. In that case, that is all. Thank you for your help, sir."

" _Right. I'll let you know if the situation changes."_

As the Fleet Admiral hung up the phone, Drake wondered if anything would come from his proposal. Though he thought he dressed up his demand for another battleship quite nicely, he also knew that ship girls were a precious commodity, and that any country would be extremely reluctant to part with any of theirs. Still, Fleet Admiral Cassius was trustworthy enough, so Drake could expect him to give the proposal some more thought at the very least.

 _Now to call one more person just in case,_ Drake thought as he dialed another number, though this one he didn't have to look up.

" _What the hell do you want?"_ a female voice groggily answered in a refined British accent.

"Lira… What have I told you about your manners? Is that any way to greet your favorite cousin?"

" _Either tell me what you want now, or sod off. It's six in the morning over here, you dunce."_

"So? Does the Royal Navy not make you guys wake up early or something?"

" _Didn't I tell you that I'm at INFCOM now, you idiot? We have different hours than the Royal Navy."_

"I just called one of my Fleet Admirals at INFCOM a minute ago, and he was wide awake," Drake pointed out.

" _Do I look like a bloody fleet admiral to you? Hurry up and tell me what you want before I hang up."_

"Fine," Drake replied with a frown. He then went on to explain to Lira everything he had told Fleet Admiral Cassius.

" _... Have you been knocked in the head, Richard? Don't waste my time with such a stupid proposal ever again."_

"How is it stupid?" Drake demanded, growing tired of his cousin's insults. "You didn't even bother to counter any of my arguments, so if anything, you're the stupid one here."

" _You bloody Yank -"_

Lira's sentence was interrupted by an intense coughing fit, clearly audible through the phone even though she had put the receiver down while coughing. Drake cringed a bit as he listened to the wheezing.

" _... Good God, Richard. Do I really need to explain why your proposal is dumb?"_ Lira asked as she recovered from her bout of coughs.

"All right, I know that trading a battleship for some destroyers and light cruisers sounds bad on the surface, but -"

" _It's a terrible idea for us. Just because the Atlantic Ocean isn't as dangerous as the Pacific doesn't mean that we can afford to send away our only battleship, and half of our fleet's strength."_

"You're part of the European Fleet. One battleship isn't even close to half your strength," Drake corrected.

" _I mean England's strength, you dimwit,"_ Lira admonished. " _We can't do it, sorry. I'm going to hang up now."_

"Wait," Drake said before she could put down the phone. "Can't you help me out here? What good is having a cousin and an uncle in the Royal Navy if you guys can't even do this one thing for me?"

" _Excuse me? You're making it sound as if you're asking for a little favor, when in reality, what you want is impossible. Just shut the hell up and stop talking to me."_

"All right, fine," Drake conceded, giving up on convincing her. "Can you at least tell the other European admirals about my proposal? Maybe one of them will want to take up my offer."

" _And what good would that do? I'm just a captain. I don't have a star like you do,"_ she spat bitterly.

"So? They're not just going to ignore you because you're a lower rank. You're stationed at INFCOM, and your father is an admiral. If you're not going to even consider my proposal, you could at least tell the others about it."

" _... Fine. I'll see what I can do."_

With that, Lira hung up the phone. Drake sighed softly as he put the receiver down. Talking to his cousin was always such a pain, but he had to try it. At the very least, his proposal would now be backed by two members of INFCOM, so hopefully at least one of the admirals there would agree to it… Though, to be honest, he doubted that would happen.

A few seconds later, Kaga came back into his office, but not by herself. Accompanying her were Shoukaku and Zuikaku, the two carriers of his Sixth Fleet.

"I have informed our fleets of our response to the abyssal bombings, sir," Kaga said, then shifted her gaze to the carriers of the former Fifth Division. "These two insisted on speaking with you despite the fact that I explained the situation very clearly to them."

"Like hell you did!" Zuikaku yelled. "You were just being a condescending bitch the whole time, just like you are right now!"

Kaga turned to glare at her, but Drake interrupted before an argument could start.

"Stop screaming in here. Can't you see there are other people working?"

Zuikaku shut her mouth, but not before shooting Kaga a dirty look.

"Anyway, what did you two want?" Drake asked as he leaned back in his chair.

"Sir… We would like to know why we are being left out of this sortie," Shoukaku asked. She wore a frown on her normally gentle face, and her golden eyes spoke of restrained anger.

"We need two carriers to remain behind to guard the base just in case of another aerial attack. It would also be disastrous if the mission went badly and we sortied all our carriers since it would completely cripple our airpower," Drake explained.

"Kaga already explained that," Zuikaku cut in. "What we want to know is why you're taking Hiryuu and Souryuu instead of us. They're not even part of your damn fleet!"

"Was our combat performance in the last sortie lacking?" Shoukaku asked with worry.

"No. In fact, you both performed exceptionally well," Drake said truthfully, recalling how Shoukaku effectively led the main fleet and kept them together, and how Zuikaku recognized the flaw in the organization of the planes. "This wasn't my decision. Fleet Admiral Miiro was the one who wanted to sortie Hiryuu and Souryuu instead."

"Then why didn't you tell him to fuck off? Isn't that how you do it in America?" Zuikaku demanded. "He's not your commander. He can't force you to take Hiryuu and Souryuu instead of us!"

Drake shook his head. "It's not that simple, obviously. I told you that I would have picked you two if I could, but it's just one sortie. I don't see why you care so much."

Shoukaku's expression contorted into one of anger.

"Because we're tired of being sidelined in favor of the _Kido Butai_! We're IJN carriers too, aren't we?! Just what makes them so much better than us!" she shouted.

Drake was a bit taken aback by Shoukaku's out-of-character outburst, but he quickly recovered.

"All right, I get it. You two clearly have an inferiority complex to the _Kido Butai_ … But you're wrong. Neither of you two are any less skilled than the carriers from the _Kido Butai_."

"Sorry, but your words are meaningless, Admiral," Zuikaku said. "If that's really true, then why the hell is the Fleet Admiral insisting that you take Hiryuu and Souryuu? Why didn't you bother to argue on our behalf?"

"Did you ever think that maybe the _Kido Butai_ has something to prove as well?" Drake asked the two sisters. "Instead of focusing on yourselves, you should see things from their point of view. Yeah, maybe you two think that the _Kido Butai_ are these four godly beings who can't be touched. But you want to know the reality of the situation? Despite their numerous achievements and accolades, the fact remains that the _Kido Butai_ is best known for being utterly destroyed by the Americans at Midway. That's it. Everything they've ever done before that is all overshadowed by their crushing, humiliating defeat. If you bothered to look at things from a different perspective, you would see that maybe the reason why I didn't argue against the reformation of the _Kido Butai_ was so that they could have another chance at battle, and drag their reputation out of the mud and back to the top, where it deserves to be."

Shoukaku and Zuikaku stared silently at the ground after Drake's speech, and though Kaga's face remained an impassive mask, her fists were tightly clenched at her sides.

The rear admiral spoke up again. "As I said before, I don't consider any other carriers to be better than you two. I trained you both myself, and I feel bad about leaving you behind. But you have to understand that sometimes, there are more important things than your own personal feelings."

"... You're right, sir. We apologize for our rudeness," Shoukaku said as she bowed, prompting Zuikaku do do the same, albeit a bit more reluctantly.

"Er, you don't have to apologize," Drake said sheepishly as the two carriers bowed. "Just make sure to look after the base and the fleet while we're gone. You'll both get plenty of chances to sortie in the future, so don't worry about that."

The two carriers bowed once more before exiting. Drake sighed as he went back to his paperwork. Kaga sat down next to him and also started on some paperwork, and though she was just as silent as usual, Drake began to wonder if his words had offended her.

 _Eh, whatever… It's not like anything I said was false._

"Admiral… Thank you for what you said."

Drake was a little surprised that Kaga was thanking him for that. He turned to look at her, but she hadn't lifted her golden-brown eyes from her paperwork, though she was blushing slightly.

He grinned to himself. "You're welcome."

The two spent the rest of the afternoon in a comfortable silence, finishing the day's paperwork.

* * *

The night breeze was cold and bitter, and the black sea churned uneasily under the Airfield Princess' feet as she sailed through the open waters. Her long white hair spread out behind her as the wind blew, and though she wore little in the way of clothing, she was protected from the night air by her own internal combustion processes as well as the intense heat emanating from the monstrous jaw that was part of her rigging on her right side. An deep red light shone from within the creature's jaw, a dimmer shade than the color of the Princess' eyes. A massive cannon rested atop the jaw, and two large airstrips jutted out from the Princess' rigging on either sides of her.

" _Henderson, do you read me?"_ a female voice sounded in in the Airfield Princess' head through the wireless communication system they used.

"I do. What do you want?" the Airfield Princess, known as Henderson, replied.

" _You know exactly what I want. The Council has ordered you to return to base."_

Henderson smirked. "The Council? Last time I checked, I was also a part of the Council, was I not?"

" _Which is why we cannot have you remaining out in the field for extended periods of time, especially if it is for no reason."_

"Oh, shut up. I don't need you lecturing me."

" _... Apparently you do. You must be low on fuel by now, right?"_

Henderson frowned and bit her lip. "I have enough."

" _Enough for what?"_

"They're going to send a fleet out here soon. That, I'm sure of," Henderson replied as her red eyes scanned the dark horizon.

" _How soon?"_

"I don't know. Tomorrow or the day after, probably, since their planes have trouble flying at night."

" _And you are sure of this? Or are you just going to sail around, wait for a fleet that isn't going to show up, waste all your fuel, and then force us to send one of our fleets to escort you back?"_

"Don't use that tone with me," Henderson snapped. "I know what I'm doing, thank you. Now leave me in peace."

To her pleasant surprise, the feed cut out, allowing Henderson to enjoy the sound of her own sailing without having to deal with her nagging comrades.

 _I just know those idiot humans are going to send another fleet in order to hunt down the culprit behind the bombing of their base,_ the Airfield Princess thought to herself as she smirked. _With any luck, they'll assume that it was some sort of carrier task force that attacked them, leaving them unprepared to fight a Princess… But even if they do know whom they're going up against, they stand no chance against me._

Deciding to give up on her search for tonight, Henderson stopped sailing and slowly began submerging. Though most Abyssals could operate underwater, they were much faster on the surface of the ocean, and their weapons were almost completely ineffective under the sea unless they were of a submarine class. Henderson figured that nobody would show up tonight, so she assumed it was all right to lay low and resume her post tomorrow morning.

 _The ship girls… They will come,_ she decided. _And when they do, I'm going to sink them, along with their pathetic human masters… How disgusting. Those warships were given a second chance at life, and what do they do? They spend their newfound sentience spilling more blood, just as they did in their past lives. Humans truly do care for nothing other than violence and eliminating their enemies. That is why they must be wiped out._

The Abyssal Princess submerged, and like the setting of the sun, her glowing red eyes disappeared beneath the black waves.


	7. Kido Butai III

"What's your admiral like, Akagi?" Souryuu asked conversationally as she, her sister, Kaga, and Akagi waited around on the docks on the day of the sortie.

The slight sea breeze danced with Akagi's dark hair as the carrier wore a thoughtful expression. "Hm… He's all right, I guess. He's really serious, though, and kind of cold."

"What about his skills as a commander?" Hiryuu asked as she stretched a bit.

"He's a good tactician," Akagi admitted, recalling how their last sortie had gone mostly smoothly with no significant injuries aside from Haruna, despite the second unexpected enemy battleship. "I don't think we have to worry about him being incompetent or anything, at the very least."

Souryuu nodded. "That's good to hear. Our Admiral doesn't really command our fleet as much as he just gives suggestions. Nagato is really the one who's in charge."

"Are you sure you should be saying stuff like that, Souryuu?" Hiryuu cautioned as she raised an eyebrow.

"Who cares? It's not as if he's going to hear it, and even if he did, I doubt he'd do anything."

Akagi smiled softly as she looked out onto the ocean. "... Still, it's nice to be back together like this again. It's nostalgic, isn't it?"

"Sure is," Hiryuu agreed. "I never thought we'd get to fight together again after that day."

"Yeah! Now that we're together again, we won't lose to anyone!" Souryuu enthusiastically declared. She then glanced over at Kaga. "You've been quiet as always, Kaga. You're not even a little glad to be back with the _Kido Butai_?"

The stoic carrier shrugged. "I just think we should refrain from becoming overconfident. You all remember what happened the last time we did that."

"Kaga is right," Akagi said. "I'm sure we'll be able to defeat this Airfield Princess, but that's only if we are careful and composed."

"You two… Always being the responsible ones," Souryuu mused as she flicked some dust off her uniform.

"Hey, is that him?" Hiryuu then asked as she glanced over at a lone figure approaching the docks.

The four carriers turned to see the tall, broad-chested figure of Rear Admiral Richard Drake. As per usual, Drake wore a frown, and his dark brown eyes were fixed in their seemingly-permanent glare.

"Jeez, why does every admiral at this base aside from ours always look so angry?" Souryuu whispered to her sister.

The carrier task force saluted as Drake arrived, and the rear admiral returned their salute with one of his own.

"Good morning, everyone. My name is Rear Admiral Richard Drake, and I will be in charge of this fleet for today's sortie," he greeted. "I had some business to take care of, so I assume Kaga has already briefed you all on the specifics of this mission…?"

Kaga nodded to him, so Drake continued on.

"All right. So, as you all know, our mission is to seek out and sink the Airfield Princess, whom we assume is the one who bombed the base a few days ago."

Drake then took a moment to look over the four carriers, and he smirked. "An American commanding the famous _Kido Butai_ … Nagumo must be rolling over in his grave right now."

That comment drew frowns from pretty much everyone, which Drake knew it would, but sometimes he just couldn't help himself.

"Anyway, let's hope that I can do a better job than he did. We're setting sail in thirty minutes, so get on the ship whenever you're ready."

As Drake walked back over to where the ships were docked, Hiryuu shook her head.

"He seems pretty rude, honestly."

"Well, he _is_ American," Souryuu said.

"He's not rude," Kaga denied immediately, but blushed a bit when she realized everyone was staring at her in surprise. "W-well, I just mean that he has good intentions. Despite what he says, I know he will do his best to ensure the fleet's success."

"Oh? Didn't expect you of all people to rush to his defense," Hiryuu teased with a smirk.

"You must like him a lot, Kaga," Souryuu pointed out.

"Just because I said one good thing about him? Ridiculous," Kaga countered, scowling and crossing her arms.

"But you _have_ gotten pretty close to him, haven't you?" Akagi asked, smiling.

"Because I'm the Secretary Ship, so I have to," Kaga bit back, growing frustrated. "Fine, I don't care. Say whatever you want about him."

Akagi giggled. "But I wouldn't want Kaga to snap at me…"

"That's it. I'm going to the ship," Kaga declared, getting fed up with the teasing.

"Ah, yes, go run into the Admiral's arms! He'll comfort you!" Souryuu called out after her, causing Akagi and Hiryuu to laugh heartily.

Kaga's blush deepened as she picked up her pace, leaving the three chuckling carriers behind. She knew they were just lightheartedly poking fun at her, but something about their words made her more frustrated than normal.

 _Not that I care,_ she tried to convince herself as he made her way up to the super jet cruiser that would carry the fleet around.

As she entered the interior of the ship, a short figure slammed into her, causing her to grunt in surprise.

"Ah! Sorry!" a submarine Kaga recognized as I-19, or Iku, apologized. She then ran off again, and Kaga sighed softly.

 _Must be late for a meeting with her admiral,_ she assumed. Rear Admiral Genji would also be accompanying the carrier task force on this mission, as he would be providing a submarine escort.

Kaga walked through the halls of the super jet cruiser until she arrived in front of the situation room, which would be the main command center for this operation. The ship, the _Guadalcanal_ , was assigned to Rear Admiral Genji, but it was basically the same as its sister, so Kaga was able to find her way around easily since she had already been aboard the _Espiritu Santo_ before. Super jet cruisers weren't very big since most of their space was allocated to housing the ship girls' equipment, so that also made it easy to find the command center.

When she got to the large room, Kaga paused before pushing open the door. She was a bit early, so she wondered if anyone would even be there. Even if nobody else was in there, she figured she could just wait in there for the sortie to start. _Better than staying out with the rest of the carriers and being harassed by them…_

Kaga entered the room and found it empty save for one figure, who had his back turned to her. Drake was staring out the window, his gaze fixed on the dark blue ocean. The skies overhead were clouded with gray, which would make visibility a bit difficult for the planes, and the waves churned lightly. Kaga was about to say something, but her words died in her throat as she looked at her commander. Drake's eyes were staring out at nothing, as if his mind was far, far away. He was biting one of his knuckles nervously, so hard, in fact, that blood could be seen underneath his white glove.

"Admiral," Kaga finally called out, snapping Drake out of his trance. He whirled around, surprise flashing across his face for a brief moment before he recovered.

"Oh, Kaga. I didn't hear you come in," he began, glancing down at his knuckles as he finally noticed the pain. He quickly hid his bleeding hand out of view. "Has everyone boarded the ship?"

"Not yet. It's just me." She couldn't stop her eyes from wandering to where his hand was hidden behind his back. "Admiral… Are you all right?"

Drake grimaced as he realized he had been caught. "... I'm fine."

Kaga narrowed her eyes at him. "Now that I think about it, you've been acting strange ever since the base was bombed."

"That's not true," Drake feebly denied.

Kaga frowned, but decided not to pursue the matter any further.

The two then stood around in the situation room, an awkward silence hanging over them. Drake resumed his staring out at the sea, though he made sure to keep his outward appearance more composed this time.

 _Damn it… Kaga probably thinks I'm some sort of coward now,_ Drake thought glumly.

Though he tried to hide it, the thought of facing the Abyssals again up close made him feel extremely uneasy. The bombing of the base only served to prove that he wasn't over Tangier yet, and the fact that he was being sent off to sortie against an Abyssal Princess didn't help much. The first sortie didn't bother him since he didn't have to see or even hear the Abyssals, but this time, he would be using himself as bait, and it was very possible that the battle could drift back towards his direction.

Drake grit his teeth. _It's not as if I doubt my own tactical abilities… But why can't I get over this fear?_

Before he could find an answer to his own question, the doors to the situation room opened, and the remaining members of the _Kido Butai_ entered. Also accompanying them were Rear Admiral Genji and his three submarines, I-186, I-8, and I-19, who would be escorting the carriers. The submarines were all wearing school swimsuits, which Drake thought was kind of weird, but he supposed the fact that they were warships reincarnated as teenage girls was weirder.

"Looks like everyone is here," Genji noted as he glanced around the room. "Good thing too, since we're about to set sail. How is the visibility out there, Drake?"

Drake frowned as he turned his neck towards the windows. "Could be better."

"Great," Genji replied sarcastically. "Well, it doesn't matter. If we wait any longer the Airfield Princess is going to leave the area, and if our planes have trouble flying in this weather, then so will hers."

Drake nodded as the ship began to move. The speed of the super jet cruiser was impressive as always, and the group looked out the window as the dark waves were cut open by the ship's rapid run through the ocean.

"All of you should head down to the loading bay so that you are prepared to deploy at any moment," Genji said, addressing the ship girls.

The ship girls all nodded, and they silently funneled out of the room, leaving the two admirals alone with the dull sounds of the ship's engine and the parting of the waves.

"What do you think of this mission?" Genji asked as he joined Drake at the window.

The American shrugged. "I'm betting we'll just sail around for a while, waste some fuel, and then return to base empty-handed."

"And assuming we encounter the Princess…?"

"Your guess is as good as mine, then. I've got no clue what this Airfield Princess is capable of."

"You're the carrier officer, so actually you should have a better idea than I do," Genji roughly pointed out. "You don't think you can defeat her?"

"One, I am not a carrier officer. I keep saying that, but nobody listens. Two, like I just said, I don't know what an Abyssal Princess is capable of, so how could I possibly know if the _Kido Butai_ can beat her?"

"There was an Abyssal Princess at Tangier, though."

Drake's eyes darkened. "... I guess there was. But I was a bit busy that day, so forgive me if I wasn't taking copious notes on her capabilities."

Genji scowled. "Then enjoy fighting blindly today. _You_ might just end up dying instead of her."

Drake gave him an incredulous look. "You realize that if she sinks this ship and I die, you're probably going to die as well, right?"

"Yes. And?"

Drake just shook his head as he continued to watch the sea roll past.

The two rear admirals then sat around in the situation room for about half an hour, just waiting for something to happen. The ship had reached the area where the Princess was theorized to be hiding, so if she was still around, she should be appearing soon, or not at all.

Drake sighed to himself as took a sip from a water bottle. He looked over the map of the Eastern Pacific that was plastered across the large table in the middle of the room with bored eyes.

Genji made a noise of disappointment as he turned in his chair to face the ocean. "I'm beginning to think that Fleet Admiral Umi is an idiot. Why did she -"

His sentence was interrupted by a voice on the loudspeakers:

"Abyssal signature detected! Launch all fleet personnel!"

The admirals shot to their feet and rushed to the window. They frantically searched gray wastes for any sign of the enemy, but then realized that the abyssal was probably some distance away and couldn't be seen yet. The ship stopped moving soon after, staying in place in case it needed to reverse course and retreat.

" _Admiral, we are en route to the enemy's last known position,"_ Kaga's voice sounded in Drake's earpiece.

"All right," Drake replied as he moved over to the radar screen. He noticed that Genji was on the other side of the room, also presumably communicating with his fleet.

" _It looks like the Airfield Princess has launched her planes… So many planes! And if they are flying at the altitudes that they attacked the base at, I don't know if our fighters will be able to reach them…"_

"No need to panic. We planned for this," Drake said reassuringly. "We already saw how inaccurate they were at that height, so they're going to need to dive low to have any chance of hitting you… Everyone, launch your planes."

Drake was met with four affirmatives as the _Kido Butai_ fired their first volley of arrows. He twirled a lock of his hair between his fingers as he stared at the radar screen, nervously wondering how the battle would go.

 _At the very least, it looks like I'm far enough away to avoid any direct hits from the enemy aircraft,_ he thought, relieved. _But the carriers…_

* * *

Kaga aimed her bow up at the air and towards the direction of the Airfield Princess, who at this point was still out of sight, positioning it so it would give her planes the best possible takeoff. As she let go of the bowstring and fired the arrow, she saw her three comrades doing the same out of the corner of her eye.

The quartet of arrows sailed through the air, and though four carriers had simultaneously launched their planes, only a measly total of eight aircraft appeared in the air once the arrows transformed.

"Split up," Kaga commanded after their planes took off, and the four carriers all sailed off in different directions.

The small air force of dive bombers the carriers had launched had been devoid of any fighter escort, and there was a reason for that. According to Drake's plan, the _Kido Butai_ 's initial strike was meant to be nothing more than a scouting force. The planes were supposed to go towards the Airfield Princess, flying directly under the Princess' own aircraft. The purpose was to see what the Princess would do when confronted with and enemy strike: would she ignore them and continue onwards with her own attack, or would she pull a few fighters out of their escort and shoot down the ship girls' planes? And if she chose the latter, how fast would she be able to drag her planes out of their high altitudes?

The splitting up of the four carriers was just supposed to be a way to throw off the enemy. If the Airfield Princess had to choose between four targets and divide her airstrike, then the carriers would have a better chance at evading and defending against her. However, the plan had the potential to backfire: if the Airfield Princess chose to ignore the other three carriers and only go after one of them, then that unlucky ship girl would face the full brunt of the Princess' strike and would likely sink.

Though it was a risky move, Drake thought that the Princess would act as he predicted because of her nature. Since the Princess had stayed in the waters near the base alone, she was clearly confident in her abilities. Therefore, Drake guessed that she would also trust that her airstrike could take out all four carriers even if she split it up and wouldn't bother going through the trouble of taking out each carrier one by one. Also, if the Princess did decide to send her entire air force after one carrier, then the other three would be free to attack the Princess with impunity since they wouldn't have to worry about dodging bombers, which would be terrible for the abyssal.

"Admiral, it appears the enemy air strike is splitting up," Kaga radioed as she checked her radar. "It also looks as if the Princess ignored our planes."

" _Good… Now, all carriers, launch the rest of your planes! All of them!"_

"All of them…?" Kaga asked incredulously. They hadn't really discussed what their counterattack would be after this point since there were so many possibilities and so little time between the bombing of the base and the sortie, so Kaga was surprised to receive such a bold order.

" _Yes, and hurry the hell up! Don't bother with formations; just send out every fucking dive bomber you have at that thing! Do it fast, before the enemy airstrike gets to you!"_

Kaga immediately complied, sensing the urgency in her commander's voice. She quickly notched an arrow and fired, repeating the process over and over again until her quiver was empty. By the end of it, her right arm ached from the strain, and the sounds of the enemy air force buzzed threateningly overhead.

" _Prepare for air attack!"_ Drake's voice sounded over the radio channel. " _Oh, and call your fighters back to guard you if you can! Should've said that earlier, but whatever…"_

Kaga frowned as she remotely willed her fighters back to her position, and she narrowed her eyes as the first of the enemy's sleek black planes began their dives. She sped backwards, barely avoiding the first bomb. Seawater splashed her, drenching her clothes. The second bomb hit nearby as well, and for a moment, she panicked as the bursts of water blinded her.

Luckily, her fighter planes in the rear of her formation managed to return at that time and opened fire on the enemy bombers. This caused them to swerve and miss Kaga completely, giving the stoic carrier a brief respite. However, her break was interrupted when a massive rain of abyssal fighters burst forth from the gray clouds, easily overpowering and destroying Kaga's own fighters.

" _Rush the enemy position! Sail that way while you're dodging!"_ Drake commanded.

As she carried out her new orders, all the while taking fire from the fighters, Kaga realized what her admiral was doing. He had them send out all their bombers because the enemy had already launched the bulk of her own airpower, and the abyssal's lack of interest in stopping the first eight bombers indicated that she wouldn't divert planes from her own attack to stop the ship girls', especially now that the Princess' force had already split off and was so close to the carriers. Even if the Princess did have some planes remaining after launching her initial attack, then she would be outnumbered anyway by the huge air force Drake launched, something that the Airfield Princess wouldn't expect.

Drake had told Kaga and Akagi during the planning for this sortie that carrier duels were like two boxers with extremely long reaches and glass chins duking it out, and this fight was certainly proving that true. The Princess had launched her punch, and the _Kido Butai_ shot their fists forward almost immediately afterwards. Since both boxers were so focused on punching each other, neither had much time to defend.

As if to punctuate the analogy, a bomb detonated on Kaga's left shoulder, causing her to choke back a cry of pain. She briefly surveyed the damage as she sailed forward in a zigzag formation. Her clothing had been burnt off in that area, and her skin was blackened and hissing.

 _It looks mostly superficial, thankfully,_ she thought as she moved her left arm gingerly, wincing a bit.

However, another bomb crashed right in front of where she was sailing, blowing a rush of water into her face and forcing her to stop and change directions. Unfortunately, this momentary stoppage allowed another dive bomber to strike true, this time hitting her squarely on the back.

The explosion lifted her off her feet, tossing her a couple meters forward. Her face tightened in pain as she tried to rise from the ocean's surface, but her expression quickly shifted to one of horror as she heard another bomber approach from behind. Since she was a stationary target, the next bomb could easily sink her.

Fortunately for her, the rest of her fighters had arrived on the scene, and they blasted open the offending bomber with a flurry of fire and steel. Kaga took that opportunity to force herself to her feet, and she kept on sailing forwards, ignoring the searing pain in her back and shoulder.

 _Good thing they haven't hit any crucial areas, like my flight deck or engine._

She grimaced as she swerved to avoid another dive bomber. Kaga upped her speed, forcing her body into overdrive and consuming fuel and energy at the maximum possible rate.

 _Almost there…_

" _Bad news!"_ Akagi's worried voice sounded through the radio, and despite her words, Kaga was at least glad to see that she hadn't sunk yet. " _It looks like our planes have run into some trouble before they could get to the enemy!"_

After hearing her sister, Kaga focused her attention back to her dive bombers, allowing a small portion of her vision to be taken up by the live feed from the planes she had sent out. Sure enough, the bombers were being harassed by a squad of abyssal fighters.

" _What!"_ Drake cried out after Kaga relayed this information to him. " _She still has enough planes to pose a threat to a combined air force composed of every last one of the dive bombers from four different carriers?!"_

" _Looks like the fighters she sent after us are also going back towards the enemy,"_ Hiryuu's pointed out, her voice strained. " _She's going to trap our dive bombers in a pincer movement with her fighters and anti-air guns."_

The girls could hear Drake growl over the radio. " _You four, get over there, now! If your dive bombers don't take her out, you'll have to beat the shit out of her with your own two hands!"_

" _W-wha…?"_ Souryuu asked tiredly. " _But we're not made for fighting like that…"_

" _I don't give a fuck! At least Kaga and Akagi are trained in CQC. Hiryuu and Souryuu, try and serve as distractions if you're not good for anything else."_

The channel went silent after that frustrated transmission, and Kaga was left with nothing but the company of the enemy bombers again.

 _How many of these things are there?_ She grumbled to herself as she dodged another bomb. _At least the Admiral's stamina training has proven to be useful… Normally, I wouldn't be able to go on for very long at this speed._

A bomb then exploded at Kaga's feet, causing her to lose her balance a bit. As the carrier tried to regain her footing, she saw another bomb heading straight for her, falling right above her head. Knowing that such a hit would mean certain death, she quickly raised her left arm above her head, shielding her body with her flight deck. The bomb landed on the deck with a thunderclap, and Kaga's entire left arm vibrated painfully. Her injured shoulder in particular cried out in agony, causing Kaga to screw her eyes shut and bite her lip hard enough to draw blood.

A final dive bomber made a run at her but missed, and then the sky fell quiet. Kaga sighed in relief as she continued on towards the Airfield Princess, her entire body aching and her flight deck destroyed.

 _Well, if I still have any planes left in the air, they certainly can't land anymore… Now all that is left is to engage and defeat the Princess in close combat…_

In her heavily-damaged state, that certainly wasn't something Kaga was looking forward to, though, at the very least, she had three other carriers to help her… Assuming they were all still alive, that is.

"Fleet, do you read me?" Kaga called out, lifting a hand to her earpiece. "Is everyone all right?"

" _Urgh… Depends on what you mean by 'all right,'"_ Akagi replied, her voice notably weaker than before. " _I'm still alive, at least…"_

" _I'm not too damaged,"_ Hiryuu answered, " _but I think Souryuu was hurt pretty badly. She's still visible on our radar, so she hasn't sunk, but she's not moving either."_

Kaga checked her own radar, and sure enough, Souryuu's position was static. Akagi was still slowly sailing towards the Princess, but it looked as if Hiryuu had broken off to go check on Souryuu. Kaga couldn't really blame her for that, especially since someone did need to go and make sure that Souryuu was still alive.

" _Yeah, Souryuu's out of this sortie,"_ Hiryuu informed the fleet after about a minute. " _I don't think she's about to sink or anything, but her flight deck is completely destroyed, and she definitely broke a leg. She's also got a couple of nasty burns… What should we do? Should someone tow her back to the ship?"_

" _Leave her,"_ Drake replied immediately.

Kaga blinked in surprise at the admiral's abruptness.

" _What?! Did you not hear what I just said?"_ Hiryuu shot back angrily.

" _Yeah, I did. You said she's not in any danger of sinking, so leave her there."_

" _Are you insane?"_ Hiryuu snarled. " _She's still beat up, and what if her condition worsens? What if the Princess sends a dive bomber to finish her off?"_

" _Then you'd better hurry up and kill the Princess before she can do that,"_ Drake said, his voice devoid of any sympathy. " _I'm not wasting an able-bodied carrier on a run back to the ship while there's still an Abyssal Princess that needs to be defeated."_

" _But -"_

" _Shut the fuck up,"_ Drake interrupted. " _I gave you an order, and you will obey it. You three need to get to that Princess and sink her as soon as possible, so shut up and do as you're told."_

Hiryuu was silent after that, and Kaga could see that she was now heading back towards the Princess. Even so, the former Second Division carrier would no doubt be extremely irate about this, especially if something did end up happening to Souryuu.

About half a minute later, Hiryuu and Akagi appeared in Kaga's vision as the three carriers converged together. Hiryuu didn't appear to be very injured, only sporting a couple burns. Akagi, however, was not as healthy; gray smoke emanated from her rigging, her clothing was torn and burnt in various locations, and she cradled her right arm close to her side.

The three carriers formed up wordlessly, and after thirty more seconds of sailing, they spotted the white figure of the Airfield Princess. Her long, snowy hair was torn and blackened, and her red eyes flashed angrily as the ship girls approached. She had two runways attached to her side, each one much bigger than the carriers' flight decks. However, the runways had numerous craters in them, rendering them mostly useless. Also attached to her right side was a monstrous jaw, and Kaga could see a sort of red light glowing from within the creature's mouth. A large gun was mounted on top of the jaw, but it had been damaged and bent out of shape.

Littered around the Airfield Princess were the corpses of the carrier planes, their wreckage bobbing among the waves and flames. Parts of the black abyssal planes were also scattered about the ocean, indicating the aftermath of a massive aerial battle. Though it appeared that the planes had taken each other out, the burns and dents on the Airfield Princess showed that at least some of the ship girls' aircraft had managed to land hits.

Despite her injuries, the Airfield Princess smiled wickedly when the carriers arrived.

"So you've finally come," she greeted in a malicious, distorted tone. "I've had to deal with your pathetic planes and submarines up until now, but I am glad to see that you have decided to show your faces so I can sink you while staring into your terrified eyes."

"Shut the hell up. It's three against one, you dumb bitch," Hiryuu spat, clearly still in a bad mood.

"Three? Ah, yes. Your other comrade must be so damaged that she cannot fight any longer. Or, could it be, that she has sunk already?" the Princess asked, her grin growing wider.

Hiryuu seethed with rage. "She hasn't sunk yet, Abyssal scum. In fact the only one sinking here today will be you."

The abyssal's response was to fire a high-powered beam of red energy from her monster's mouth. The burst of energy shot outwards at such speed that Hiryuu barely had time to dodge, and even then, she wasn't fast enough. As the light faded, Hiryuu looked down in horror to see that she was missing her right arm from the elbow down, the beam having disintegrated it but simultaneously cauterizing the wound.

Kaga took this opportunity to rush the Airfield Princess, and she once again burned through her fuel in order to increase her speed. The Princess hurriedly turned to intercept, but Kaga ducked under her outstretched hands and rammed her uninjured shoulder into the Princess' stomach, causing the abyssal to cough in pain. Kaga then gave her a savage uppercut, enjoying the feeling of her fist connecting with the Princess' chin. However, the abyssal soon recovered, and she swung her hips to the left and hit Kaga's legs with the edge of one of her runways. Kaga lost her balance and landed on her back on the ocean's surface, making her hiss in pain since she had already taken a direct hit to her back earlier.

Akagi, seeing all this unfold, rushed to help her adopted sister. The gluttonous carrier tried to land a punch on the Princess' side while she was distracted, but the abyssal managed to catch Akagi in the corner of her eye and turned her body slightly. Though Akagi probably could have connected with her punch anyway, the sight of the monstrous maw aimed straight towards her stomach made her flinch away in fear after witnessing what that thing was capable of moments earlier. Akagi retreated slightly, sliding out of the jaw's path of destruction.

This momentary diversion allowed Kaga to get to her feet, and the quiet carrier drew the Princess' attention back to herself by pulling harshly on a strand of the abyssal's white hair. The Princess yelped in surprise, and Kaga yanked on the hair harder, pulling the Princess towards her. The carrier then launched a haymaker towards the Princess' face and connected, causing the abyssal's head to spin due to the strength of the punch overpowering the opposing force of Kaga pulling on the Princess' hair. The Princess reached out blindly with her hands and managed to brush Kaga's injured shoulder, forcing the ship girl to grunt in pain and back off.

As Kaga moved back a bit, the Princess righted herself and tried to regain her balance. However, to everyone's shock, Hiryuu came rushing in at full speed and smashed right into the abyssal. Both their bodies went crashing on top of the ocean's surface, and they rolled together with the momentum, water splashing all around them.

 _Well, I suppose that's one way to fight if you aren't trained in CQC,_ Kaga thought as she rushed over to help.

Akagi joined her, and the two First Division carriers quickly pulled Hiryuu out of the pile and tossed her behind them. While the Princess was still struggling to get up, Akagi and Kaga beat her mercilessly with their fists, adrenaline flowing through their veins as they rained down punches on the downed abyssal. The Princess managed to grab Akagi's injured right arm, causing the carrier to cry out in pain, but instead of pulling away, Akagi reached up with her left hand and pulled her bow off her back. With fury in her eyes, Akagi brought the bow down on the abyssal's head with full force, snapping the weapon in half. This forced the Princess to let go off Akagi's arm, but before the two carriers could capitalize on the Princess' weakened state, they felt an intense heat emanating from the abyssal. The ship girls quickly leapt backwards as a powerful red beam erupted from the Princess' monster jaw and shot into the air.

As Kaga, Akagi, and Hiryuu got back into their formation, the Airfield Princess also managed to get to her feet. Glowing red blood dripped from her mouth, and she wore a look of pure rage.

"You… Insolent, degenerate, worthless -"

The Princess' tirade was interrupted by a sudden underwater explosion that threw her a few meters back.

 _Ah, yes, the submarines,_ Kaga realized.

Coughing and sputtering, the Airfield Princess rose to her feet once more, though she was visibly much more weakened than she had been at the start of the fight. The Princess shot a hateful glare towards the carriers, and Kaga stared right back, her brown eyes unflinching.

"Hiryuu, Akagi… Let's finish this."

* * *

Drake stared at the radar screen, his arms crossed and his trademark frown still in place. Aside from Souryuu, who was still in the spot she had stopped moving, the other three carriers were clumped around the Abyssal Princess, indicating that they were engaged in close combat. Drake couldn't tell how the fight was going from the radar alone, so he had no idea what was happening. He was tempted to contact them and ask for an update, but he thought it might distract them. Eventually, though, he gave in and reached a hand up to his earpiece.

"How's it going? Don't answer if you're busy."

" _The Airfield Princess has been severely weakened,"_ came Kaga's reply. " _We should be able to sink her soon."_

Drake smirked to himself. "Good. Try and capture her alive if you can, but if that's not possible, then just kill her. Just don't do anything too -"

The rear admiral's sentence was interrupted when the _Guadalcanal_ shook violently, throwing Drake off his feet. He hit the floor of the situation room with a thud.

"What the hell was that?!" Genji growled from the other side, where he was hanging onto the corner of the large table in the center of the room.

" _TORPEDO ATTACK DETECTED ON SONAR. ENGAGING EVASIVE MANEUVERS."_

Genji groaned as he heard the automated announcement. "Great. The enemy had submarines this whole time?"

The super jet cruiser began moving again, and it rapidly built up speed as it took off.

"This damn jet cruiser can't maneuver well enough to avoid torpedoes," Genji grumbled. "The only thing it's good at is going fast, and even then, I don't know if it will be able to outrun abyssal torpedoes from this range…"

The IJN admiral reached up to his earpiece. "Submarines! The _Guadalcanal_ is under torpedo attack! Get back here, now!"

Genji got to his feet and rushed towards the windows of the situation room to see if he could get a better look at the situation. To his horror, he saw a handful of black abyssal destroyers also popping in and out of the ocean.

 _Damn it! My submarines can't take on enemy subs and avoid destroyer depth charges at the same time!_ Genji cursed inwardly.

He then turned to Drake. "Drake, call back your carriers. We need to -"

The ship was then struck by another torpedo, and the cruiser groaned as the ship bounced up and down, throwing Genji back onto the floor. On his way down, his head hit the corner of the table, knocking him out.

Drake was still on the floor from the first strike, and the second hit caused his eyes to widen in fear. _This feeling…!_

His mind flashed back to Tangier, and he was back aboard the _USS Freedom's Sacrifice_ once again. The lurching of the ship combined with the sirens made his head spin, and he couldn't bring himself to get up off the floor. He recalled the abyssal submarine he saw on that day: its eerie mask, long, black hair, and pale white flesh as it outstretched its hand towards him.

 _No… They're back to drag me underneath the sea… They're hunting me because I escaped like a coward on that day!_

" _Admiral! What is going on!"_ Kaga demanded over the radio, but Drake could barely hear her. His ears were filled with the screams and explosions of the Battle of Tangier.

* * *

Kaga bit her lip in frustration as she waited for her admiral's response. Only silence answered her.

"What's going on over there?" Akagi asked, not taking her eyes of the bloodied and beaten Abyssal Princess in front of them.

"I don't know…"

Kaga frowned as she wondered just what could have happened. One moment she was talking with her admiral, and the next, she heard a loud crash, and her admiral was no longer answering. Whatever occurred, it couldn't have been good.

" _Carriers!"_ Imuya's voice sounded through the radio channel. " _Be advised that you will no longer have submarine support! The_ Guadalcanal _has come under torpedo attack, so we've been recalled to assist!"_

The three carriers looked at each other in shock.

"But how…?" Akagi wondered.

"Submarines, should we return to the ship as well?" Kaga asked, desperate for more information.

Imuya took a few seconds to respond. " _I don't know the situation there beyond that. Our admiral isn't responding to our communications anymore."_

Kaga nodded, then got off the radio and turned to her fellow carriers. "That settles it, then: we're returning to the ship. Something must have happened there."

"What about her?" Hiryuu asked, pointing to the Airfield Princess, who was taking this opportunity to catch a much-needed breather.

The Princess noticed them staring at her. "What are you whores doing? Are you just going to stand there, or do I need to come to you and kill you myself?"

"Shut up," Kaga commanded, her eyes narrowing and her frown deepening. "You're lucky this time. Your pathetic tactic of attacking our defenseless command structure has saved your life today, but do not expect this to ever be allowed to happen again."

"What?" the Princess asked, clearly confused. Her red eyes then lit up in realization. "That bitch…"

"Forget her, Kaga," Akagi said. "If we're leaving, we need to go now."

"Wait, we're just going to let her go?" Hiryuu asked incredulously. "You can't be serious! She's almost dead!"

"And our admiral could die while we're trying to kill her," Kaga parried.

"Fuck the admiral! Wasn't he the one going on about sinking that Princess at any cost before? We're supposed to finish the mission, right? Isn't that why we left Souryuu behind?"

Kaga ground her teeth in frustration. "We don't have time for this right now. As the flagship, I am giving the order to return to the ship. Now go get Souryuu and meet us back there."

Hiryuu gave her a look of disgust, but obeyed the command regardless. Kaga then nodded to Akagi, and the two carriers sped off towards the ship. The Airfield Princess shouted at them to come back, but the abyssal herself was apparently too tired to give chase.

As they sailed back, Kaga and Akagi attempted to locate the _Guadalcanal_ on the radars they were equipped with. Since their radars weren't very advanced or expansive, they weren't able to see anything just yet, leaving them in the dark once again. Despite her usual calm demeanor, Kaga found herself strangely nervous. As a proud carrier of the IJN, Kaga would consider it a great mark of shame if she allowed her admiral to die under her watch. But aside from that, she also felt something else.

 _Why do I feel as if I don't want Admiral Drake in particular to die…?_

Though Kaga didn't want any of her comrades to fall in combat, there were some, such as Akagi, who she treasured in particular. She definitely didn't see Drake on that same level, but she had to admit that she felt different towards him than she did towards her past admirals.

"Kaga, look," Akagi said, her tone serious and her golden eyes fixed ahead.

The stoic carrier found her way out of her thoughts and refocused on the ocean, and she was greeted with the sight of the _Guadalcanal_ zigzagging around at high speeds, apparently trying to avoid enemy submarines. The ship was smoking slightly, indicating that it had been hit at least once. Trailing the super jet cruiser were a pack of black destroyers, hopping in and out of the water like porpoises and firing their guns in bursts.

" _Carrier Task Force, we're having trouble fending off the hostile submarines because the destroyers keep dropping depth charges,"_ Imuya said through the radio. " _I noticed two of you on my radar… If you can take out those destroyers, we will finish off the submarines."_

"Consider it done," Kaga replied. However, even as she said that, she realized that both she and Akagi were completely out of arrows.

"We'll have to charge them, won't we?" Akagi sighed.

Kaga nodded. "It's not as if we have any other weapons outside of our anti-air guns, which are almost empty anyway. Either way, we have both been trained in close quarters combat, and we are only up against destroyers."

The two carriers resolved themselves to their task and chased after the ship, causing the destroyers to whirl around and face the more immediate threat.

"Submarines, we have the attention of the enemy destroyers! Hold off the enemy submarines!" Kaga ordered into her mic as she sailed straight for the abyssals.

The I-class destroyers opened their mouths and fired at Kaga and Akagi. The carriers swerved around the shells, but a few managed to hit them anyway. One clipped Kaga in her burnt shoulder, bringing tears to the corners of her eyes. Nevertheless, she continued on.

Finally reaching the first destroyer, Kaga used her momentum to leap over it and land directly behind it. She then picked it up, and with a ferocious warcry, cracked it over her knee. The destroyer's armor split open, spilling cyan blood and slick organs onto Kaga's tattered uniform. Though the destroyer's armor was not nearly as tough as hers, Kaga still felt a sharp pain go up through her leg as she broke the abyssal. She threw the shattered corpse into the ocean, and the remains of the destroyer sunk beneath the waves.

Moments later, Kaga heard the sound of another shell being fired at her. However, she had anticipated this and pulled her bow off her back beforehand. Since she could no longer move as quickly as she would like to given her injuries, she used the bow as a sort of shield. The shell tore right past the bow, snapping it in two, but the sturdy weapon managed to absorb a bit of the shell's strength, and so when it hit Kaga in the stomach, it only felt like a small punch to the gut.

Kaga then moved to finish off her last remaining destroyer, but the abyssal was faster than her and sped out of her reach. It opened its mouth to prepare another shot, but before it could fire, another abyssal destroyer came hurtling towards it through the air, colliding with it. The force of the hit threw the destroyer's aim off, and Kaga took this opportunity to eliminate it. She got hold of the destroyer's top and bottom jaw, and she grit her teeth as she used her immense strength to rip the destroyer in two.

Panting in exhaustion, Kaga turned to see Akagi sailing over to her, the red-clad carrier apparently having defeated her opponents as well.

"Good throw," Kaga said.

Akagi gave her a tired smile. "Looks like that CQC training paid off after all, huh…"

" _Attention Carrier Task Force: all enemy submarines have been eliminated,"_ Imuya informed them across the radio.

Kaga nodded before bringing her hand to her own earpiece. "All hostile destroyers have also been sunk. It looks as if that was the last of the Abyssals. Hiryuu, it is now safe to approach, so bring Souryuu and return to the ship. The rest of you should do the same. I would imagine that we will be retreating now."

Kaga then looked towards the _Guadalcanal_ , which had slowed down to a stop now that the enemy had been defeated.

"Admiral, are you there? All Abyssals have been sunk," Kaga radioed as she sailed towards the ship, trying once again to contact Drake.

She received no response, causing her to clench her fists and frown. She and Akagi made it back to the ship, and the bay doors had been opened to allow them to return. Evidently there was still at least one person on the ship who was tracking the situation.

After the machines removed what little damaged equipment she had left, Kaga immediately headed in the direction of the situation room.

"Akagi, stay here and make sure that everyone else arrives safely. I am going to check on the Admiral."

Ignoring the searing pain and her sore muscles, Kaga walked up the flight of stairs and arrived in the main hallway. Quickening her pace, she made it to the situation room and flung open the doors.

Drake was leaning over the table, his face pale and his hands trembling. He was breathing as if he had just finished running a marathon, and when he looked up at Kaga, she could see that his eyes were bloodshot. Rear Admiral Genji lay on the floor, unconscious but evidently still alive based on the steady rise and fall of his chest.

"Admiral, are you all right? Are you injured?" Kaga asked worriedly, walking over to him.

Drake swallowed the lump in his throat. "Y-yeah, I'm fine… What happened?"

"The ship came under attack, so we returned to repel the enemy."

"... And the Abyssal Princess?"

Kaga looked away. "We dealt her massive damage, but she escaped after we sailed here."

"Why… Never mind. What about the others? Where's Akagi?"

"Akagi is fine, as is the rest of the _Kido Butai_. We are all heavily-damaged, but none of us is in any danger of dying right now."

Drake took another breath as he composed himself. "That's good, I guess. We're returning to base once everyone boards the ship. You should go to the medbay as well. Take Genji with you if you can, otherwise I'll call someone to come and get him."

Kaga nodded, but she couldn't help but wonder why Drake looked as if he would collapse at any moment. He had no physical injuries, but something must have happened which gave him such a haggard appearance and prevented him from responding to her messages.

"Admiral… Are you sure you are all right?"

Drake turned away from her as he adjusted his cap. "... I'm fine."

Kaga stared at his back. _No, you are not 'fine,' Admiral. And this time, I'm not just going to accept that answer._


	8. Unsinkable Bonds I

Drake idly flipped through the post-battle report again as he sat at his desk. He was up early for once, and the morning sun poured in through the window behind him, bathing the papers in a golden light.

 _Could have been worse, I guess,_ he mused to himself as he read the documents.

Though the sortie to take out the Airfield Princess obviously did not go as planned, they were still able to gain some useful information from the mission. The most important thing was that the fleet was now aware of a Princess' capabilities. Everyone knew about the strength of an Abyssal Princess because Tangier, but nobody really had an idea of how they would match up against a ship girl, since the Abyssals retreated as soon as Iowa and the others arrived on the scene. Truthfully speaking, INFCOM had no clue if sortieing the _Kido Butai_ in order to defeat this Princess would be overkill or if it wouldn't be enough. Now, however, they had a basic gauge of a Princess' strength, and though it was clear that a Princess easily outclassed a single ship girl, that did not mean that they were invincible. As the _Kido Butai_ had proven, a Princess could be brought to her knees by a handful of skilled ship girls with a decent tactician at their head.

Still, despite almost being defeated, the Airfield Princess put up an impressive fight. The abyssal had already lost some of her planes attacking the base, and for her to still be able to launch enough of them to completely destroy every single plane in the famous carrier task force's arsenal was an amazing feat. On top of that, she managed to almost sink Souryuu and then hold off the combined efforts of Kaga, Akagi, and Hiryuu for a fair bit of time before finally being overwhelmed.

Drake then thought back to the submarine attack which forced them to retreat. The abyssal force which attacked the _Guadalcanal_ was pretty small, which was why it took so long for the ship to detect them. It was also obvious that this detachment's entire purpose was just to distract the fleet long enough for the Abyssal Princess to escape, and that the destroyers and submarines who attacked the super jet cruiser were never meant to get out alive. The American admiral wondered if those destroyers and submarines were actually sentient, or if they could just conveniently be exploited because of their lack of awareness. It was generally accepted that the abyssal capital ships were intelligent, and Kaga's report said that the Princess even spoke to them in Japanese, but nobody really knew for certain how smart the smaller ships like destroyers were. Scientific analysis of the few abyssal corpses that humans had were inconclusive, as it was extremely difficult to research these beings because of their unique biology and due to how quickly their bodies decomposed.

 _Though I suppose it wouldn't matter if they were sentient or not. Sentience never prevented humans from exploiting one another, after all, so I doubt the Abyssals would be much better._

As he let his thoughts drift, Drake turned to his computer and browsed the Internet, not really feeling like doing any work. He read a few news articles and checked the scores of a couple football games now that the season had started back in America, though he knew he should probably be spending his time on more important matters.

 _And to think that Kaga was diligent enough to dictate her post-battle report to Shoukaku even while she was recovering in the baths,_ Drake thought, smiling a bit at how lazy he was in comparison to his Secretary Ship.

However, as his thoughts turned to Kaga, his mood soured. He was reminded of how he had again let his cowardice get the better of him when the _Guadalcanal_ came under attack, and he was sure that Kaga knew that there was something wrong with him. If she hadn't suspected there was a problem during the air raid, she certainly did now. Though Drake tried to ensure her that he was fine, based on the look Kaga gave him back on the ship, he knew that she wouldn't just let it slide this time.

 _I wonder what she'll think of me if she finds out that I'm still not over the events of one year ago…_

For some reason, Drake did not want Kaga in particular to be disappointed in him. If she considered him weak and pathetic because of his inability to overcome the past, he realized that it would cause him great pain.

 _Who am I kidding. I deserve it. She is out there fighting abyssals up close, and I cower in fear every time they get anywhere near me._

Drake tried to clear his mind, not wanting to think anymore on that subject. He realized he hadn't checked his email yet, so he went to his inbox, not really expecting to find anything aside from the ever-increasing paperwork that kept being sent to him.

 _Yep, nothing but more work,_ he grumbled to himself, but paused when he saw an email with 'Weekly Supply Drop' in the subject line.

 _Strange… Usually they send this kind of stuff directly to Fleet Admiral Miiro._

He opened the email and read it. As expected, the email described the contents of the drop, which were the usual amount of fuel, ammunition, steel, and bauxite that the US government sent over every week. However, there was also an added note which asked Drake to head to the docks in order to be there for the arrival of the supply drop.

 _Wonder why they want me there… Maybe they sent over something that's only meant for my eyes?_ He read the expected arrival time of the drop, then glanced at the time on his computer. _Wait, that was five minutes ago… Shit!_

The rear admiral quickly got up and broke into a brisk walk towards the docks. He would probably be a couple minutes late, but he didn't want to embarrass himself by running around the base like a maniac.

When he made it to the docks, he headed over to the small airstrip that had been built towards the back. Because of the Abyssals, bringing in supplies by ship was no longer feasible, so they had to make due with small airplanes or helicopters. As expected, a pair of large cargo planes were sitting on the pavement, and machines and IJN sailors alike were busy unloading the planes' boxes and dragging them farther into the docks.

 _I guess I wasn't that late after all…_

Even so, Drake didn't see anything out of the ordinary going on, so he wondered why he had been asked to go there. As he stood silently, he noticed a few of the sailors shooting him strange looks, probably wondering why one of the admirals was just standing there and watching them. Just when he decided to stop staring awkwardly, Drake saw someone emerge from the plane's cargo hold.

The first thing he noticed about her was her long, blonde hair. A light breeze blew as she stepped out of the plane, and her yellow locks trailed behind her, a river of shimmering gold. The next thing that drew Drake's attention was her uniform, which looked like it had been designed by some Nazi fetishist. She wore a cap, coat, thigh-high leggings, and a pair of military boots, and everything on her outfit was colored in black, white, gray, or red. She was obviously a ship girl, and based on her uniform, Drake guessed she was from Germany.

As he approached, the girl's icy blue eyes fixed their gaze on him. The sailors continued to work, and though they stole a few curious glances at the ship girl and Drake, they didn't interrupt.

"Are you the commanding officer here?" she asked in English. She had a slight German accent, but other than that, her English was very good. Apparently ship girls were just naturally efficient at learning languages.

"One of them," Drake replied. "I'm Rear Admiral Richard Drake. Who are you?"

"I am Bismarck, Flagship of the European Fleet and nameship of the Third Reich's Bismarck-class battleships," she declared proudly. "If you are Admiral Drake, then you are the one I was sent to find. Here."

She held out a sealed letter to Drake, who took it with a raised eyebrow.

"That rude black man told me to give this to you," Bismarck added.

 _The hell?_ Drake thought as he opened the letter and read its contents:

* * *

 _Dear Dick (I hope you don't mind me calling you that),_

 _Fleet Admiral Cassius forwarded me your request for another battleship to supplement your fleet. Unfortunately, we could not spare Iowa, but I was able to twist a few arms and call in a favor to get you Bismarck. She is the former flagship of the European Fleet, so you can bet your ass that you got your money's worth. This is my gift to you in hopes that we can have a productive relationship in our efforts to defeat the Abyssal threat, so you're welcome._

 _Enjoy your new toy,_

 _Fleet Admiral Boston_

* * *

Aside from the shortening of 'Richard' to 'Dick,' Drake was quite pleased with the letter. Despite the rumors about Fleet Admiral Boston, Cassius was apparently correct when he said that Boston at least knows how to get things done.

"So, you're going to be joining my fleet, then?" Drake said to Bismarck as he pocketed the letter.

The German ship frowned. "Temporarily, I suppose. Apparently the Japanese are struggling over here, so International Fleet Command sent me to straighten you out. Consider yourselves lucky."

"I see you're quite modest as well," Drake replied with a smirk. "Anyway, welcome to the fleet, then. Did you bring your equipment with you?"

"You think I would leave my guns behind? They are in one of those crates. I was told they would install it in this base's launching facility."

"Good, then you can start training today, since you seem so confident. Is that all right with you?"

She shrugged lightly. "If those are your orders."

"All right, then. The rest of the fleet should be starting their morning training by now, so if you'll follow me…"

Normally, Drake would have just had Bismarck watch the rest of the fleet train for the first day, but since she was the former flagship of the European Fleet, he assumed that she was probably already very skilled. She also came off as extremely arrogant, so he wanted to see if she could back up her big words with action.

They walked in relative silence. Drake was never good at starting conversations, and Bismarck didn't seem to be eager to talk to him anyway. The rear admiral had no doubt in his mind that the German ship girl considered this posting a demotion, which was probably true considering her former position. If it weren't for whatever Fleet Admiral Boston had done, Bismarck wouldn't have even had to leave Europe in the first place, so it wouldn't surprise him if she resented the Americans for that.

 _And then there's also the fact that she's a literal Nazi,_ he thought, shooting her a quick glance out of the corner of his eye. _But I have to admit… She is quite nice to look at. Maybe that Aryan master race crap wasn't complete bullshit…_

Soon enough, the pair arrived at the portion of the beach reserved for the Fifth and Sixth Fleets. As expected, the twelve members of Drake's fleet were already there and prepared for training, most of them standing around on the sand before the start of the run.

"Sir," Kaga greeted with a salute, her golden eyes briefly taking in the newcomer as well.

"Good morning." Drake returned the salute. "How are your injuries?"

"Fine. Both Akagi and I have healed enough for training."

"Admiral! Who's that!" Suzuya demanded as she pointed a finger towards Bismarck.

"Oh, right. This is Bismarck, a member of the German Kriegsmarine. Remember how I said we needed another battleship? Well, she'll be joining us from now on."

Bismarck gave the fleet a salute, though she looked thoroughly unimpressed with them.

"Oh, cool!" Suzuya cried out. "So, you're from Germany? What's it like there? Do ya fight Abyssals too?"

"Will she be training with us today?" Kaga asked, interrupting the heavy cruiser's constant questions.

"I guess so," Drake replied. "Kaga, if you could explain to her -"

"So you must be this fleet's flagship," Bismarck said, fixing her blue eyes on Kaga. "A Japanese aircraft carrier? Interesting."

Kaga said nothing, still wearing her usual blank expression.

Drake frowned, slightly annoyed at being cut off like that. "As I was saying -"

"One more thing," Bismarck began as she turned to face both the fleet and Drake. "Let me make this clear: I did not come here of my own accord. My admirals ordered me to Japan to help your struggling fleet, and so I will do so. However, I refuse to take orders from those who are below me. I am Germany's greatest battleship! My respect must be earned."

Drake just stood there, unsure of how to react to that. Thankfully, Kaga stepped in for him.

"Is that so? And what is it we must we do in order to earn your respect?"

"Show me the strength of Japan's carriers," Bismarck answered. "I challenge you to a duel. If I defeat you, then you have no right to give orders to me, and the flagship position will be mine."

"That is the Admiral's decision to make, not yours," Kaga replied, nonplussed.

Bismarck scowled. "Strength and skill must be valued. Any half-decent admiral would know that. But if you are too afraid to face me, then all the same, you don't deserve the position of flagship."

Akagi stepped forward, her eyes flashing with anger. "Excuse me, but you can't just come in here and make such bold claims when you know nothing about any of us or this fleet."

Bismarck glared at her. "And why not?"

"Because that's rude, obviously," Amatsukaze supplied. "God, are all you Westerners this barbaric? Show that you're better than the rest of us before you try and challenge for the top position."

"Yeah, if you wanna fight Secretary Kaga, you'll have ta get through me first!" Suzuya exclaimed with a grin.

"Oh, please. I've got no interest in fodder like you two," Bismarck proclaimed haughtily. "I will fight this aircraft carrier here, or I will not fight at all."

"Fodder!?" Suzuya and Amatsukaze yelled at the same time.

"Um, maybe we shouldn't be arguing like this," Haruna said, trying to de-escalate the situation while giving Drake a pleading look.

The American admiral had been watching the proceedings with a mix of amusement and wonder up to this point, but he figured that Haruna was right and that he should do something to prevent things from worsening.

"Everybody, shut the hell up," he ordered, his deep voice cutting through the chatter. "Bismarck has challenged Kaga, so the rest of you have nothing to do with this. Kaga, if you're willing to accept this challenge…"

"Admiral, you can't be serious!" Akagi cried out.

"No," Kaga said, cutting her adopted sister off. "I accept."

Drake gave her a nod. "All right. Then instead of today's morning run, there will be a match between Kaga and Bismarck for the position of Secretary Ship."

Drake and the rest of the fleet stood on the shore of the training beach, looking out onto the ocean where Kaga and Bismarck faced off against each other. Also on the water was Shoukaku, who would be refereeing the fight and stopping it if necessary. All three of them wore their standard gear and were armed with training rounds.

"All right! Let's go, Kaga!" Suzuya shouted from the sidelines. "Kick her ass!"

"Yeah! Teach that snotty bitch a lesson!" Amatsukaze yelled, both her and Suzuya still smarting from Bismarck's earlier dismissiveness towards them.

"Kaga! You better not lose!" Zuikaku also called out.

Akagi walked up beside Drake. "Admiral… Are you sure this is a good idea?"

"Why are you asking? Don't you have confidence in Kaga's abilities?"

"Of course I do! It's just that… I don't see why you had to give in to Bismarck's demands. You're the Admiral, so couldn't you just refuse her request? We're supposed to be training right now."

Drake shrugged. "Yeah, I guess I could have said there would be no match if I wanted, but I doubt Bismarck would have just sat back and accepted that quietly. Like she herself said, Bismarck respects power and skill, so in order to stop her from causing problems in the future, it's best that we eradicate her arrogance right here and now. Kaga understood that as well, which is why she agreed to the match."

"I… Suppose you're right… But won't Bismarck dislike this fleet even more if she loses?"

"Maybe, but if we refused her request, she would see us as cowards and weaklings, which would definitely make her hate us. At least this way, we can prove that we're stronger than she is, so she has to listen to our orders even if she doesn't like it."

Akagi's golden eyes surveyed the two combatants on the sea. "And… And if Bismarck happens to win?"

"So you aren't sure that Kaga can win after all."

"Fine, I'm not," Akagi admitted, glaring at her admiral. "How can I possibly be one-hundred percent sure that she will win? Yes, Kaga is very skilled, but Bismarck said she used to be the flagship of the European Fleet. Unless you have some information that the rest of us don't, then you can't possibly know for sure that Kaga is going to be able to defeat her."

Drake smirked. "You're right, I don't have any extra information. But think about it: do you really think that the European Fleet trains like we do? The Atlantic doesn't nearly have as many Abyssal attacks that the Pacific and Indian Oceans do, so how much experience do you think Bismarck actually has? I'm sure she is a powerful ship, but can Bismarck really defeat someone who fought against an Abyssal Princess and survived?"

Akagi sighed. "I hope you're right, then."

 _Yeah, me too,_ the rear admiral thought to himself as he turned back to the ocean, where the match was about to begin.

* * *

Out on the water, the two ship girls prepared themselves for the sparring match, each of them wearing a focused expression.

"Okay, then," Shoukaku began, a bit uncertainly. "This training match will end when one of you gives in or is rendered unable to fight… Um, I think that's all… You may begin."

Shoukaku stepped back and sailed away from the battlefield. For a moment, the two combatants did nothing, and simply stood there, sizing each other up. Suddenly, Bismarck shot forward, and Kaga notched her bow with an arrow, pointing it straight at the charging battleship.

The projectile cut through the air with amazing accuracy, but Bismarck merely altered her cruising direction slightly, allowing her to completely dodge the arrow. However, the German frowned as she heard the sound of a small explosion behind her, indicating that the arrow had transformed into a squadron of planes.

"So that is how you Japanese launch your planes," she noted as the fighters and bombers flew up into the air and circled back towards Bismarck.

Kaga's fighters dove low to strafe the blonde ship girl, but Bismarck's anti-air Flakvierling guns struck true, eliminating the planes. The bombers also made their dives, but the fast battleship easily swerved away, causing them to completely miss.

However, as she dealt with the planes, Bismarck forgot to take Kaga herself into account, and her blue eyes grew wide as she turned back and found an arrow flying straight towards her face. Bismarck grit her teeth as she deflected the arrow with her arm, though the arrow did manage to tear open Bismarck's sleeve and leave a deep cut on her forearm.

Bismarck's main guns fired in retaliation, their furious song splitting open the morning air. At this distance, Kaga was able to dodge all the shots, and the towers of seawater that erupted around the carrier obscured her from view.

When the spray cleared, Bismarck was met with another arrow, but this time, she was ready. The battleship ducked underneath the projectile and kept pushing forward, trying to get close to Kaga in order to prevent her from shooting more arrows. Bismarck angled her guns towards Kaga again, deliberately aiming slightly to the right.

 _She'll dodge to her right, but I'll cut her off now that I can dictate where she will go,_ Bismarck thought with a smirk.

The German fired her cannons, and, as predicted, Kaga slid towards Bismarck's left in order to dodge the shots. Since Bismarck was expecting this, she was able to sail straight towards Kaga's position after firing, and as Kaga skidded to a stop, she found that Bismarck was right in her face.

Kaga tried to raise her hands to defend herself, but Bismarck was quicker. The battleship kicked Kaga in the stomach, sending her flying. The carrier skipped along the surface of the ocean as she flew back before finally righting herself.

 _She is faster than I expected,_ Kaga thought as she regarded the blonde battleship, who was angling her guns towards Kaga again. _She can easily dodge a bomber or two, so I would need to launch a large squadron in order to land a hit on her. However, in this type of one-on-one fight against a fast battleship, I don't have the time for that._

Kaga sailed to her side, trying to avoid the trajectory of Bismarck's guns. Bismarck frowned as she watched Kaga continue to move away from her guns, preventing her from getting a good hit.

 _Seems like neither of us can get the other with our traditional weapons,_ Bismarck realized. _I suppose I will have to resort to using my fists…_

Bismarck stopped trying to aim her guns and simply sailed towards Kaga using all her speed, catching the carrier off-guard. Kaga frowned as she quickly notched her bow with another arrow, but in the short amount of time that it took her to do that, Bismarck managed to fire off a shot from her 38 cm guns. Since Bismarck didn't have much time to properly aim, her shot was a bit off, but it had the intended effect of throwing Kaga off-balance and forcing the carrier's arrow to go flying away from Bismarck and landing harmlessly in the water.

After recovering from the slight recoil of her guns, Bismarck continued forward, her face contorted into a snarl as her ice-colored eyes locked onto Kaga.

 _Fine._ Kaga put her bow away and bent her knees, getting into the CQC stance that her admiral taught her.

The two warships met each other head-on, and Bismarck started the close-quarters exchange with a right haymaker. Unfortunately for the German, Kaga slid under the punch and pounded her own fist into Bismarck's gut, audibly sucking the air out of the battleship. Kaga then grabbed Bismarck's hips and lifted the blonde ship girl, picking up both her and her rigging briefly before slamming her back onto the surface of the ocean.

As the battleship sputtered on top of the sea, Kaga notched her bow with the quickness of a practiced warrior, aiming her arrow at Bismarck's head in order to knock her out with the arrow's dulled training point. However, before Kaga could fire, Bismarck's anti-air gun suddenly went off, shooting its projectile dangerously close to Kaga's face before exploding in the air in a burst of flak. Though the attack didn't hit Kaga, it did give Bismarck an opening to kick the carrier away and get to her feet.

The German ship girl panted and wiped at her mouth, glaring at Kaga all the while. Her 38 cm guns were pointed directly at the stoic carrier, but Kaga appeared unfazed.

"Heh… You're better than I expected," Bismarck admitted as she finally caught her breath. "But I am far from finished. Prepare yourself, Carrier!"

Bismarck rushed Kaga once more, though Kaga didn't see why Bismarck was just doing the same thing again. From the previous exchange, it was clear that Kaga was better at CQC than Bismarck, so the Japanese carrier was confused as to why Bismarck seemed so eager to get smacked around again.

 _If I were her, I would try and use my superior speed to my advantage,_ Kaga thought, _though even then, there isn't much she can do. Even though she is faster, her speed won't help her if she is too far away, and if she gets in close, my superior CQC skills make up for my slower striking speed._

Kaga dropped into her stance as Bismarck approached, and once again, the battleship started the exchange with a heavy opening strike.

 _Arrogant fool_ , the Japanese ship girl internally chastised Bismarck.

Kaga easily slid past the punch and prepared to counter, but suddenly, a loud booming noise sounded, and Kaga felt something heavy slam into her. As she stumbled from the impact and tried to regain her footing, cold metal smacked her in the face, followed by a savage uppercut which sent her flying. Kaga grunted in pain as she landed hard on the surface of the ocean, and she got to her feet with as much speed as she could muster, trying to figure out what had just happened. As she coughed up blood and winced from the sting of the consecutive blows, Kaga realized what Bismarck had done.

The German had intentionally missed her first punch, luring Kaga into a false sense of security and making her think that she could easily counter Bismarck's strike. However, that was when Bismarck fired her cannons, and since Bismarck didn't bother to plant her feet firmly, the recoil sent the battleship backwards, right into Kaga. This was meant to throw the carrier off-balance, which it did. Bismarck had then swiveled around, and that must have been when Bismarck's guns hit Kaga in the face, further disorienting her. Finally, the coup de grace was Bismarck's full-force uppercut, which had sent Kaga flying.

 _Impressive,_ Kaga had to admit as she surveyed the damage. She found it hard to stand, her vision was swimming, and her awkward impact on the ocean's surface probably bruised a few ribs.

Despite the pain, Kaga forced herself to keep moving, lest Bismarck's guns take advantage of the stationary target. _But what should I do now? With my head still spinning, I am unsure if I can effectively repel her next close-quarters attack…_

The 38 cm cannons fired again as Bismarck attempted to check whether Kaga was still capable of evading in her current state. The aircraft carrier did manage to dodge the shots, but this time, they were much closer hits, and Kaga's uniform was completely drenched in seawater by the blast.

After briefly pausing to wipe the wet hair from her eyes, Kaga drew her bow, notched it, and aimed it towards the battleship. The arrow was let loose, and before it reached its target, it exploded into a flurry of dive bombers. As per Kaga's orders, the planes flew up into the air, avoiding the bursts of Bismarck's Flakvierling. They then made their dives, and Bismarck prepared to evade.

However, to the German's surprise, the bombers didn't target her directly, and instead dropped their loads a few meters in front of her in a straight line, sending a huge wall of water up into the air. Bismarck frowned and shielded her face from the water with her arm, grimacing as the salt sprayed into her wound from earlier.

 _This is the same tactic she used earlier,_ Bismarck realized. _She hides herself behind the columns of water, then fires an arrow at me as soon as the explosion dies down._

Sure enough, the moment the spray subsided, an arrow came flying straight towards Bismarck. Knowing Kaga's strategy, Bismarck chose to leap to the side this time. The projectile sailed past her and burst into three planes, all of which came at Bismarck from behind. Making sure to keep an eye on Kaga, Bismarck zigzagged rapidly through the water, preventing the dive bombers from getting a good lock on her position and causing them to miss their dives.

With the last of the planes dealt with, Bismarck fixed her guns on Kaga, who was still standing in the same spot. Bismarck momentarily halted her movement so that she could aim properly.

 _Hmph! Does that carrier actually believe she has a chance to dodge this if she simply stands there? It looks like she has finally run out of stamina…_

Bismarck's 38 cm guns had their sights set directly on Kaga. _Even if she starts moving now, the impact will still be close enough to knock her off-balance. Once that happens, she is fini - wait, what is that buzzing noise?_

The German looked up, and her eyes widened in horror at the sight of four dive bombers hurtling directly towards her.

"Wha -"

Bismarck's sentence was cut off as a quartet of bombs exploded right on top of her, sending water, blood, and chips of metal flying into the sea breeze. Though the training bombs weren't powerful enough to kill, they could definitely cause major damage. By the time the smoke and spray had cleared, Bismarck was floating limply on the surface of the ocean, her bruised and unconscious body bobbing with the gentle rocking of the waves.

"This training match is now over!" Shoukaku declared. "The victor is Kaga!"

Back on the beach, the fleet cheered as they watched the conclusion of the match unfold.

"Try talkin' shit now, you bitch!" Suzuya yelled in excitement.

Fubuki stared out at the ocean with a captivated look. "... Amazing…"

"Great job, Secretary!" Sendai called out as she waved.

"Yeah! That's the power of an IJN carrier!" Zuikaku fistpumped.

Drake was slightly surprised that even Zuikaku was celebrating Kaga's victory, but he had to admit that he himself also felt a bit proud. He expected nothing less from his Secretary Ship.

"What a victory," Akagi breathed as she looked out towards the sea. Kaga was slowly steaming back to shore, and Shoukaku was busy towing the unconscious Bismarck back as well. "You were right, Admiral. It turns out I had nothing to worry about."

Drake nodded. "Kaga never fails to impress me. Bismarck put up a much better fight than I thought she would, but Kaga still managed to win."

"There was one thing I was wondering about, though," Sendai interjected, "where did those planes from above come from?"

"Idiot, weren't you paying attention?" Amatsukaze asked incredulously. "Kaga launched them!"

"Thank you, Genius! That wasn't what I was asking, obviously!"

"It seems as though Secretary Kaga's distraction also worked on you, Sendai," Yahagi said with slight smile. "Kaga had her bombers throw up that wall of seawater in order to block herself from view, fooling Bismarck into thinking that Kaga would just use that wall of water in order to launch another arrow at Bismarck when the spray died down, like she did earlier in the match. However, this time, Kaga also launched an arrow high up into the air while the wall of water was still up. While Bismarck's attention was focused on countering the arrow that Kaga would fire directly at her, the first arrow which had been shot into the air would launch a surprise dive bomb attack."

"Both combatants made excellent use of misdirection tactics," Drake added, his tone approving. "That was definitely an entertaining match to watch."

Normally, a lone battleship would just be a sitting duck for a carrier's aircraft, but with ship girls, things were obviously different, as Bismarck was able to put up a good fight. This was a whole new age of naval combat, and despite his less-than-pleasant experiences so far, Drake felt thankful that he was able to be a part of it.

The two carriers arrived back at the shore, and Kaga was immediately swarmed by the rest of the fleet, who were eager to congratulate her. Drake decided to wait until the crowd died down and instead went over to Shoukaku, who had laid Bismarck down onto the sand beside the battleship's damaged equipment.

"How is she?" Drake asked, leaning over to observe the battleship. Her clothes were ripped up and parts of her body were covered in black bruises and blood.

"She has taken some significant damage, but she will be fine after some time in the baths," Shoukaku said. "Should I tow her over there?"

"I will do it," Kaga said from behind the pair, causing them to turn around. "It was I who caused the damage, after all."

"Kaga, that's -"

"Okay," Drake agreed, cutting Shoukaku off. "You should get yourself repaired too. I'll give you the day off from training today, so take as much time as you need."

Kaga nodded, then pulled a strong, steel wire out of her rigging and wrapped it around Bismarck's feet and equipment. The damaged carrier strode out to sea and began sailing towards the docks, dragging the defeated German behind her.

After Kaga sailed away, Drake turned back to the rest of the fleet, most of whom were chatting excitedly among themselves about the battle.

"What are you people doing? Aren't you supposed to be training?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Aaaadmiraaal!" Sendai whined, and a few other girls also groaned.

"What, did you actually think that you wouldn't have to train today just because there was a practice match?"

"No, but we thought hopefully you'd forget and we wouldn't have to," Amatsukaze said.

Drake frowned. "... Really? You thought I'd just forget? Well, whatever, just get to it. I'll be nice and let you skip the run today."

The fleet realized they probably wouldn't get any more concessions out of their admiral, so they reluctantly began heading towards the ocean for close-quarters-combat practice.

"Oh, right," Drake stopped them, remembering something. "I forget to say this a while ago because of all the shit that happened right after, but good job on your first successful sortie with those airfields. Looks like all that training paid off."

"Yeah! Let's go on another sortie soon!" Suzyua cheered.

Sendai nodded. "A night battle this time!"

"Well, it's only natural that we would succeed," Zuikaku boasted, puffing out her chest. "You're very lucky to have us in your fleet, Admiral."

"I'm sure I am," Drake replied with a smirk. "Anyway, that was really all I wanted to say, so -"

"Admiral, we should have a party to celebrate our victory!" Suzuya quickly exclaimed.

"A party?" Amatsukaze repeated.

"Yeah! Do you not know what a party is?"

"Of course I do!"

"Hey," Drake interrupted, "this is a navy, and we're a professional military organization. We can't just go around throwing parties."

Suzuya deflated. "... Yeah, I guess you're right…"

"Aw, you're no fun, Admiral!" Sendai complained.

"It does seem like it would be fun…" Amatsukaze said after giving it some thought.

Drake stared at them incredulously, and Shoukaku then spoke up.

"Sir, this may be a navy, but we ship girls are not conventional soldiers. We are, after all, still young women, so it's only natural that some of us would have trouble abiding by regular military standards."

"Yeah, but… Throwing a party here still seems kind of weird."

"Huh? So you think we're weird?" Zuikaku asked aggressively.

"That's not what I - all right, you know what? Fine. We can do something in celebration of your first successful mission. But it won't be anything too grand," Drake conceded, finally giving in.

"All right! What are doing?" Sendai demanded to know, bounding up to Drake.

Drake thought for a bit. "Hm… Ah, I have just the thing. There's this great movie you all should watch. In fact, attendance is now mandatory. Clear your schedules for this Saturday night!"

"Yeah!" Suzuya cheered. "But… Where are we gonna watch it?"

"Does this base even have a movie theater?" Yahagi wondered.

"That's a good question…" Drake had no idea. "Well, we could watch it at my house, but -"

"That's a great idea!" Suzuya decided. "Party at the Admiral's house, this Saturday! All right!"

"My, the Admiral is inviting a group of women over to his house at night? How scandalous~" Kashima teased.

"I do kind of want to see how the Admiral lives…" Shoukaku admitted, tapping her chin in thought.

"I bet he's a real slob! Er, no offense, sir," Zuikaku said, grinning. "It's just that Shoukaku always says you forget to do your paperwork and that you make her and Kaga cleanup your mess!"

"Shoukaku! Seriously?!" Drake exclaimed, feeling betrayed.

"N-no, I didn't put it like that!"

"You all," Drake sighed. "Just so you know, my house is very clean…. And I don't make Shoukaku or Kaga do all of my paperwork either!"

"All right, all right," Zuikaku backed down, "what time should we show up, then?"

"I don't know… Around nine, I guess? The movie is like three hours long or something. By the way, if you have any requests for food or drinks, tell Shoukaku at some point and she'll forward it to me eventually… And yeah, I think that should be it. Now can you all finally go and train?"

The fleet saluted and headed out on the water, but one ship girl stayed behind.

"Um, Admiral…" Yamakaze began nervously. "Do we _have_ to go on Saturday?"

Drake gave her a questioning look. "Yeah. Do you not know what 'mandatory' means?"

"T-then… Can I bring one of my sisters with me?"

"Sorry, this is for my fleet only. If I let you, then I'll have to let everyone else do the same," the rear admiral explained. "Why do you need your sisters? Do you just not like anybody else in the fleet? You seem to get along pretty well with Fubuki and Amatsukaze, from what I've seen."

"No, that's not what I meant…" Her green eyes looked down at the sand. "... I just thought… It might be scary watching a movie late at night…"

"Don't worry, it's not a scary movie," Drake assured her, resisting the urge to laugh. _Though considering they are ships, this movie might be a bit scary for them…_

"O-okay."

Drake tried to smile at her, putting his hand on her seafoam-green hair. "We'll all be there with you, so there's no reason to be afraid. I mean… You've fought the Abyssals before. I don't know how you think this can be scary in comparison to that."

"Understood, sir…"

"Good," Drake said as he reached out and pinched Yamakaze's cheeks between his fingers.

"Mmph! A-admiral! Shtop that!" she cried out.

"Sorry, I couldn't resist," Drake said as he finally let her go.

Yamakaze pouted at her admiral before joining the rest of the fleet on the ocean.

 _She's really cute… Anyway, I don't need to be here if they're just working on CQC. I should probably go see how Kaga and Bismarck are doing._

Drake left his fleet to their training and went to the bathhouse, though when he got there, he paused before entering.

 _Should I really be entering a girls' bathhouse like this? Ah, whatever, it's not like I haven't done this before._

The rear admiral walked into the baths, and he was glad that it seemed to be mostly empty this time. However, before he could make it too far, Kaga stepped out onto the main pathway, thankfully fully-clothed.

"Admiral. I thought I told you that it isn't appropriate for you to be in here."

"And I told you that an admiral has a right to check on his ships," he countered. "You know I wouldn't just come in here to leer at you in the baths, right?"

Kaga frowned. "Fine. As you can see, I am doing well. Bismarck is still unconscious, but she is being repaired by her Fairies as we speak, and we should both be ready for further combat in a few hours."

"Oh. That's good, I guess. You both seemed pretty beat up earlier, so I just wanted to make sure."

"I see. Either way, I suppose it is good that you are here. There is something I wanted to discuss with you as well."

 _This can't be good,_ Drake thought.

"On the ship… You seemed a bit out of sorts," Kaga began, referring to the day of the Airfield Princess sortie. "And before that, when the base was bombed, you also appeared to be… Greatly uncomfortable."

"... I don't know what you're talking about."

Kaga closed her eyes and sighed. "Please don't play dumb with me, sir. I am your Secretary Ship, so it is best if there are no secrets between us."

Drake knew he couldn't squirm his way out the situation anymore, so he grit his teeth and decided to come clean.

"Fine. I _was_ 'greatly uncomfortable.' Are you happy now?"

"Why?" she asked, her golden eyes boring into his brown ones.

Drake looked away, unwilling to say it. "You know already."

"So… The Abyssals. You fear them, for some reason."

"'For some reason'!?" Drake snapped. "You know the reason! I did tell you that I fought at the Battle of Tangier, right?"

Kaga's eyes lit up in realization. "I see. So that's why…"

"Yeah," Drake responded, frowning bitterly. "I know you must be thinking how much of a coward I am. I don't care. I know that already. But at the end of the day, I'm still your admiral, and you still have to follow my orders."

Kaga's gaze was serious. "So you're a coward, are you?"

"What?"

"I asked you a question, sir. Are you a coward?"

The rear admiral froze, unable to say 'yes or 'no.' _I know I'm a coward… But why can't I come out and say it? Disgusting… A coward who can't even accept his own pathetic reality._

"If you are a coward, then why are you here?" Kaga asked. "This war has no place for cowards."

Drake briefly wondered if Kaga was insulting him, but he sensed there was something else behind her monotone words. Spending so much time everyday over the past month with Kaga had made Drake very familiar with her and her thoughts.

"What… What are you asking? I'm here because I have to be!"

"Oh? I wasn't aware they execute you in America for quitting the Navy."

Drake clenched his fists. "That's not…! I… I have to be here…"

"Why?" Kaga asked again. "I thought you were a coward. If that's true, then go and run away."

"I can't!"

"Why not?"

"Stop asking that!" Drake finally shouted. "I don't stay because I'm brave or courageous or anything like that, if that's what you think! I stay because…"

He paused briefly, his expression darkening.

"... Back at Tangier, I made the decision to let the Abyssals bomb the city so that I could escape with my life. I paid with blood for my survival, blood that I had no right to use. So that's why… If I don't stay and fight, then why did I survive that day? Why did I manage to escape? If I don't defeat the Abyssals in the end, then what the hell did all those people die for?!"

Kaga listened to her admiral's passionate outburst, then closed her eyes. "... As long as you have a reason to fight, then I don't see a problem. You may think yourself a coward, but if in the end, if you're still combating the Abyssals, then I have no reason to object to your leadership."

"But you saw how I was on the ship," Drake countered softly. "I… Even after all that, sometimes I can't help but freeze up in fear when I remember that day…"

"Is it truly the Abyssals you're afraid of when you recall that battle? Or is it something else you fear?"

"What do you mean?"

"... Never mind. Just know this," Kaga started, looking her commander in the eyes. "Whatever it is that frightens you, as long as I draw breath, I can promise you that you won't have to face it alone. That is the Secretary Ship's job, after all. I will fight by your side until the end, Admiral."

Despite his worries, Drake felt a warm feeling blossom in his chest when she said those words to him. He gave her a rare smile.

"Thank you, Kaga. In that case, we will win this war, together."

Kaga responded with her own smile, an even more elusive thing than Drake's.

"Yes, sir!"


	9. Unsinkable Bonds II

"This can't be possible."

Kaga looked over at her admiral from her seat next to him at his desk. "What is it?"

"There's no way Akagi can consume this much bauxite just from training," the American said, throwing the sheet of paper onto the desk.

"Well… She has always had a big appetite."

Drake snorted. "Yeah, no wonder Mamiya always sighs in defeat whenever she sees Akagi walk through the door."

"Carriers need a lot of nutrition and upkeep, sir," Kaga pointed out.

"Yeah, but I feel like Akagi is eating a lot more than she needs to. Neither you nor the Fifth Carrier Division consume this much…"

"She is special in her own way," Kaga simply said, resisting the urge to smirk at her admiral's frustration with the gluttonous carrier. "Also, I heard Akagi mention that there is some sort of party tomorrow…?"

"Wasn't my idea," Drake quickly told her. "Everyone wanted to have a celebration since we never did anything after our first successful sortie, so we're just going to watch a movie or something at my house tomorrow night. Hopefully that will satiate them."

Kaga frowned. "Are you sure we should be doing this in the middle of a war?"

"Hey, I told you it wasn't my idea," Drake said. "But honestly, I don't think it's too much of a problem. Everyone needs a break sometimes, and soldiers used to watch movies all the time during World War II."

"If you say so, sir. What movie will we be watching?"

"You'll find out tomorrow," Drake responded mysteriously. "But trust me, I'm sure you will all be able to identify with it. I also think this is a good opportunity for the fleet to increase its sense of camaraderie."

The doors to the big office then opened, and the pristine and professional figure of Bismarck strode in, her blonde hair trailing behind her. She walked up to Drake's desk and tersely saluted.

"Sir," she said as a way of greeting, though her voice held no warmth. "Battleship Bismarck, reporting for duty."

"I see you're finally out of the docks." Drake returned her salute. "Uh, well, training is already over for today, so there's not really much I have for you to do… You could try training on your own, I guess. Or Kaga or someone could show you around since you're still new to the base."

Bismarck's icy blue eyes flitted over to the Secretary Ship for a brief moment. "I will be fine on my own."

Drake shrugged. "Fine. But you really should try and get along with everyone. If you're going to be part of a fleet, you should probably make it so that the people watching your back during a battle don't hate you."

The German narrowed her eyes. "I don't understand. Are you saying the rest of the fleet hates me?"

"Well… They certainly don't like you. Some of those girls have been wanting the Secretary Ship position from the very start, and for you to just come in and challenge Kaga for it on your very first day was probably seen as incredibly arrogant and rude."

Bismarck shot a quick look at Kaga again, but the carrier was busy reading over a report, wearing her usual blank expression.

"I admit that I was defeated fairly," the battleship said, "but I will not apologize for my actions. Not to anyone."

"That's your choice. But don't think anyone's going to shed a tear for you when you sink in combat, then."

"I don't need anyone!" she shot back, her mouth twisting into a snarl. "What, do you all think that you're superior to me because I lost one training match? You don't know how mistaken you are! I am Bismarck, Germany's greatest battleship!"

"See? This is the exact kind of attitude that nobody likes," the admiral told her with some edge in his voice.

Bismarck glared at him. "I don't care whether you like it or not. You must feel so smug, sitting there and giving me, of all people, orders. Let me tell you this: I'll never accept any commands from an American pig, nor from his Japanese lapdogs who have forgotten their pride and bent over so sweetly for their new masters!"

"Excuse me?" Drake asked, clearly angry at this point. "Who the hell do you think you're talking to?"

The German battleship smirked darkly. "Oh? Are you angry now?"

"The fuck is wrong with you?" Drake stood up, baited by her taunting. "Why do you insist on being such a little bitch?!"

"How dare you! I won't stand here and listen to your slander any longer, filthy American!" Bismarck declared, turning away and storming out of the office.

"Fine then, you Nazi whore! Fuck you!" Drake shouted bitterly as she left, which drew looks from Nagato and Mutsu, who were also present in the office, but they quickly averted their gaze after Drake sent them a glare.

The rear admiral sat back down, still angry at Bismarck's rudeness and slightly ashamed at himself as well. He cast a glance at Kaga, and unsurprisingly, she was still sitting there reading that report as if nothing had happened.

"That was quite interesting," she said after a few seconds.

"Not the word I would use, but sure."

"Mm. You should probably go and apologize to her."

Drake was dumbfounded. "... What? Why would _I_ apologize to _her_? You're telling me you're not angry at what she said about you?"

"No. It is clear that she is distressed and is not thinking normally, so I will do the mature thing and not hold it against her. You should do the same."

"I can't believe this. You seriously want me to apologize to her?"

"I don't presume to give you orders, but I would recommend it, yes. It has been a difficult few days for her. First of all, she is new to this country and this naval base. That transition alone is enough of a challenge, but in addition to that, she was also defeated and humiliated in front of the entire fleet on her first day here. For someone who used to be the Flagship of the European Fleet, that must be a heavy blow to her pride. She then spent the next day in pain while recovering in the docks. On top of all that, she is completely alone and has no one to comfort her save for a fleet full of girls who dislike her and a commanding officer who is from a country that she has always seen as an enemy. Under those circumstances, it is only natural that one would experience a great degree of discomfort and be prone to outbursts like the one we just saw."

Drake grimaced as he leaned back in his chair. "... I hadn't thought of all that. Still, that doesn't excuse what she said."

"You also were not very cordial, sir," Kaga responded in her monotone. "If you don't wish to apologize, then I won't say anymore. But just as you told Bismarck, perhaps that would be the best course of action, at least for the sake of the fleet."

Sighing in defeat, Drake stood up. "You're right, I guess. I'll go find her…"

The rear admiral put on his cap and strode out of the room, not looking forward to his task. As he walked down the stairs and out the lobby of the Administrative Building, he looked around the street outside, wondering where she would have gone.

 _Guess I'll have to ask around…_

The sky was painted orange in the wake of the setting sun, and seagulls called out to each other in the distance. Fall had finally come, but the weather did not seem to notice, so the day was as hot as ever. Drake scowled as he pulled at his collar. The heat only worsened his mood as he reluctantly stalked the base in search for the German battleship.

A few minutes later, Drake spotted Shoukaku and Zuikaku walking together, talking about something or another. They saluted when they saw him, and he saluted back.

"Admiral, good evening," Shoukaku greeted. "Taking another break?"

"Actually, I'm here on business. I'm looking for Bismarck," he replied, slightly annoyed at her use of the word 'another.'

"Huh? She's finally out of the docks?" Zuikaku asked.

"Yeah, for better or for worse," Drake sourly said. "So have you two seen her?"

"Nope," the twin-tailed carrier answered. "And I don't really want to, to be honest. She can keep to herself for all I care."

"That's not the kind of attitude you should have towards a fellow fleet member," Drake told her, aware of how hypocritical he was being. "Shouldn't you try and get along with her?"

Zuikaku frowned. "Then she shouldn't have came in here acting like she was the new Empress or something. I think she got what she deserved."

"But if she already got what she deserved, then there's no reason to continue being hostile towards her," Drake pointed out. "Right, Shoukaku? What do you think?"

"Er, I… I think it was a bit rude of Bismarck to act the way she did," Shoukaku admitted a bit hesitantly. "But still, I do agree that for the sake of the fleet, we should try and get along. I am willing to put the past behind us, and I think everyone else should as well."

Drake nodded. "You should tell the same thing to the rest of the fleet. Now, then, I've still got business with her, so I should probably get going…"

"Wait," Shoukaku called out, stopping the admiral. She turned back to her sister. "Zuikaku, you go on ahead. I will be there in a minute."

Zuikaku raised an eyebrow but said nothing and kept walking, and Drake turned around with a questioning look.

"What is it?"

"I… I wanted to apologize for what I said. Before the _Kido Butai_ sortied…"

"What do you… Oh, that," Drake said, recalling how Shoukaku and Zuikaku came into his office and demanded to know why they were being replaced by Hiryuu and Souryuu on the sortie to hunt down the Airfield Princess. "You don't need to apologize for something like that."

Shoukaku looked at the ground. "It was shameful for me to act in such a way. I did not mean to come off as selfish or spoiled…"

"I told you, it's fine," Drake assured her. "I understand your reasons, and if you're apologizing, then you understood ours as well. And like I said, you and Zuikaku will have plenty of chances to sortie in the future. You're both important members of this fleet, and in my mind, you two are just as good as the _Kido Butai_. There's a reason why I chose you to be the flagship of the Sixth Fleet, after all."

"Admiral… Thank you." Shoukaku smiled at him. "Then… I will do my best to continue to lead this fleet to victory, alongside you and Kaga."

"Good," Drake replied with a nod. "Well then, I've got to go find Bismarck, so I'll see you tomorrow, I guess."

"Yes, sir. Good night."

Drake continued his search. It had been just over ten minutes since he started looking.

 _At least it's finally cooling down a bit,_ he thought as he glanced out towards the sun, which was slipping further and further beneath the horizon. _Where could she be…?_

"Admiral!"

Drake turned to see Sendai running towards him, accompanied by two other light cruisers who he assumed were her sisters since they wore similar uniforms. Though Sendai cheerily bounded up to him, the other two maintained their distance.

"What are you doing out here, sir? Are we going to have night battle training today?"

"No," came Drake's curt reply. "I'm looking for someone. Have you seen Bismarck?"

Sendai tilted her head in confusion. "Huh? What does Bismarck have to do with night battles?"

"We're not talking about night battles here! Seriously, what is your obsession with night battles? Ever since I've met you, you haven't shut up about them!"

"Because we haven't had any yet!"

"Well, too bad. I don't make the decisions on what time the operations are going to be. Now, have you seen Bismarck or not?"

Sendai pouted in frustration. "... Yes. I saw her going towards the docks."

"Thanks," Drake said as he speedwalked away to escape any more questions about night battles.

The rear admiral hurried over to the docks, hoping to find Bismarck soon and get this over with. The main part of the docks was still bustling with activity, so Drake assumed that Bismarck wouldn't be there. He headed towards a quieter portion of the area, namely a place where a small, isolated pier jutted out into the ocean. Sure enough, there she was, her back to him as she sat on the pier and looked out towards the ocean.

The battleship turned slightly when she heard him approaching, and once she realized who it was, she stood up and whirled around to face him.

"W-what do you want now?"

"I just came to… Wait, were you crying?"

"N-no!" Bismarck denied, though her sniffle afterwards didn't give much credibility to her words.

 _I guess they really are human as much as they are ship,_ Drake thought, now feeling guilty for making a girl cry.

"Anyway," he began with some difficulty, "I came to apologize. I didn't mean those things I said, and I'm sorry."

Bismarck blinked in surprise. "You're… Apologizing?"

"Yes."

"I-I see. In that case, I accept your apology."

"... So you don't have anything else to say to me?"

"Are you expecting me to apologize to you as well?" Bismarck asked, turning up her nose. "You called me a 'Nazi whore.'"

"Don't act like you didn't say anything to me either!" Drake snapped, but then took a breath. He wasn't here to start another fight. "... I already told you that I'm sorry for calling you that. Don't you think it would be better to just put all of that behind us? Whether you like it or not, I am your commander, and you will have to obey my orders. It will be easier for the both of us if we can get along."

Bismarck said nothing, her icy blue eyes boring into Drake's dark brown ones.

"I don't know why you insist on being so uncooperative," the admiral said, frustration tinting his tone. "This isn't World War II anymore, and we aren't enemies. There's a greater threat out there right now, and if we don't work together to stop it, the Abyssals will kill us all. How much do petty arguments like this really matter in the face of something like that?"

"I know that!" Bismarck spat back caustically. "But I was doing perfectly fine in Europe! I don't see why I had to come here and fight for your base instead! Ever since I've got here, things have just been going completely wrong! This isn't how it's supposed to be!"

Drake sighed. "I know it must be hard for you to come here all the way from Germany. I've been here for about a month now, and I still miss America sometimes. It's not easy going to a different country where you don't know anybody or anything, and as a foreigner, I understand what you're feeling… We're both in the same situation, and even if the other girls don't like you at first, it would be good if the two of us could get along, right? At least then you won't be completely alone."

Bismarck dropped her gaze for a moment, then looked up. "I… All right. I apologize for my words as well, and… And I will fight with you from now on. The spirit of a German battleship will not be broken so easily."

Drake took a few steps forwards, then held out his hand. "That's more like it. Let's get along from now on."

The last sliver of the sun began dipping below the horizon, painting the two figures in a dim red light. Bismarck gave Drake a confident grin and shook his hand.

"Agreed, Admiral."

* * *

Amatsukaze watched with a focused look as her practice shell sailed through the air, then smirked in satisfaction it crashed down onto a training dummy hundreds of meters away.

"Wow, good shot, Amatsukaze," Fubuki complemented from beside her.

The destroyers were training out on the ocean early Saturday morning, currently trying to hone the accuracy of their shelling. Though they technically had off on Saturdays, many of the ship girls chose to spend at least a portion of the day training. Since they were soldiers, they valued themselves on their combat abilities, so they all made sure that their skills were as sharp as could be. Even so, their Saturday training wasn't nearly as grueling as their regular regimen since there was no admiral to oversee them, so they could take things at a more leisurely pace.

Yamakaze sailed up beside the other two destroyers, marvelling at the speedy destroyer's shot as well. "I wish I could do that…"

"Oh, come on. I'm sure both of you are just as good," Amatsukaze said, though she was enjoying all the praise.

"But still, I wonder… Are we good enough to defeat the Abyssals again?" Fubuki asked, staring out at the sea.

"Huh? What do you mean? We beat them last time, didn't we? The three of us didn't really take much damage either," Amatsukaze pointed out.

Fubuki frowned. "I didn't really do anything. I just stood guard over Kaga and Zuikaku the whole time…"

"Well, I fought the Abyssals and I've seen you during training, so I believe you wouldn't have had a problem," Amatsukaze said, trying to reassure her fleetmate.

"Thanks, but… How do we know that those enemies were the strongest they have? And there weren't that many of them either. I have a bad feeling that things are just going to get much harder from here on out…"

Yamakaze whined in discomfort, but Amatsukaze simply shook her head.

"You're being too pessimistic. There's no reason to assume that those enemies were extraordinarily weak."

"Maybe. But I still think we should be prepared for harder fights from now on."

"Can't argue with being prepared, I guess," Amatsukaze replied before firing another shot towards the training dummies.

"I h-heard the carriers fought a strong enemy," Yamakaze interjected, scaring herself with her own words. "If there are enemies like that… Will we have to fight them too?"

"Oh, you mean that Airfield Princess that attacked the base?" Amatsukaze recalled. "If there are a lot of enemies like her, then yeah, I could see that being a problem… Even four carriers and a submarine fleet couldn't sink her, and they all were beaten up pretty badly by the end of the sortie."

"I think the Princesses might be part of the Abyssal command structure," Fubuki inputted. "That's what I heard Kaga telling Akagi, anyway. So maybe there aren't that many of them…?"

"Yeah, hopefully," Amatsukaze added. "Though even one of them would be a bitch to deal with."

"Hey!" a loud, cheerful voice suddenly called out, and the three destroyers looked over to see Kongou and her sisters sailing towards them. "Bucky! Out training this early?"

"Ah, hello, Kongou," Fubuki greeted. "Yeah, we thought we would get some practice in. Are you here to train too?"

"Yep! A true ship girl never neglects her duties!" the battleship declared proudly, causing Fubuki to suppress a laugh because of how ridiculous that sounded coming from Kongou.

"Are they all from your fleet, Haruna?" Hiei asked, looking over the three destroyers. "Wow, your fleet must be really dedicated. So the American admiral really is pretty tough, huh?"

"Ah, yes. Haruna nearly burst into tears when we asked her how her training was going that first week," Kirishima said with a smirk.

"N-no! That was so long ago!" Haruna quickly countered, trying not to look bad in front of her juniors. "Training is going fine now! Right, girls?"

"I still think it's annoying, but yeah, I guess it's helpful," Amatsukaze admitted.

"I heard he makes you fistfight each other," Hiei said with a grin. "That kinda sounds like fun."

"It's CQC training," Fubuki told her.

Haruna nodded. "I feel more confident engaging abyssals up close after that training. I think it's useful."

Fubuki then remembered what the three destroyers were discussing before the Kongou-class ships arrived.

"Hey, Kongou, you're Admiral Genji's Secretary Ship, right? What happened with that mission the carriers went on a while back?"

Kongou raised an eyebrow. "The Airfield Princess sortie? You don't know what happened?"

"I mean we know what happened, but we wanted to know more about the Princess herself," Amatsukaze clarified. "How powerful is she, exactly? How many Princesses are there? Will we be facing anymore of them in the near future?"

"I'm not sure Kongou is the best Secretary Ship to ask these questions to," Kirishima said, referring to her older sister's tendency to skip out on the base's administrative meetings.

"Rude!" Kongou spat before turning to the destroyers with a smug grin on her face. "Actually, as things would have it, I do know a thing or two about the Abyssals. Sure pays to be a Secretary Ship, doesn't it?"

"Literally," Amatsukaze agreed, "you get a bigger stipend than us, too."

"Yep! Maybe one day you can become as great as I am and get a Secretary position for yourself, desu!" Kongou boasted proudly as she puffed out her chest.

"Um, about the Princess…?" Fubuki tentatively asked, trying to get them back on track.

"Oh, right," the nameship said, growing more serious. "The Princess is just as powerful as you figured. She managed to hold off four of our strongest carriers, and that was after she lost some planes from bombing our base. To put it simply, her airpower is unlike anything we've seen before, either from ship girls or the Abyssals. We were extremely lucky when she attacked our base because she could have potentially done a lot more damage. She has the airpower equivalent to an entire airfield, hence her name. If we face her again, and we will eventually, then we're going to need to sortie at least four standard carriers to even have a shot at sinking her, desu."

The group of girls grew deathly silent after hearing that disheartening information from the normally-cheerful battleship.

"And to answer your other question," Kongou continued, "yes, there is more than one Princess. During that sortie, it was obvious that someone other than just the Airfield Princess was calling the shots, since the _Guadalcanal_ was attacked by a fleet of abyssal submarines and destroyers that the Airfield Princess did not call in. That must mean that whoever ordered that fleet to sortie has at least an equal standing to the Airfield Princess. This is just a guess, but we think that there might be an entire group of Princesses who serve as the leaders for the Abyssals."

"... An entire group, huh?" Amatsukaze finally said, breaking the tense silence. "And they're all as strong as the Airfield Princess?"

Kongou shrugged. "Around the same level, I think. Let's just say that they aren't to be taken lightly…"

Fubuki swallowed nervously, and behind her, Yamakaze looked as if she were about to faint out of fright. Even Kongou's sister ships appeared to be uncomfortable, so Fubuki guessed that this was the first time Kongou shared all that information with them as well.

"But don't worry!" Kongou suddenly exclaimed in her usual jovial tone. "I'm sure we'll beat them in the end, right?"

"Y-yes, if we all train our hardest, we can do it," Haruna agreed with a shaky smile, but she definitely didn't sound certain.

"No one can beat the Kongou-class!" Hiei added, though her words were not very convincing either.

Realizing the atmosphere she created, Kongou sighed. "You guys… There's no point in worrying over this, desu. My advice to all of you is to just do the best you can. Nobody can really do more than that, right?"

The rest of the ship girls nodded, and Kongou gave them another bright smile.

"All right, then! Good luck with your training, you three!"

She then sailed away with her sisters, leaving the destroyer group to themselves.

"That was certainly motivational," Amatsukaze sarcastically noted.

"Even the battleships looked scared…" Yamakaze said with a downcast expression.

Fubuki looked out at the horizon. _So it appears that the enemy is stronger than we thought… Can we really beat them?_

But as the destroyer thought about the future, she realized that Kongou's words were true. _We can't change the Abyssals. All we can do is train as we hard as we can in order to prepare ourselves. Cowering in fear is useless… What would Akagi do in this situation? I'm sure she wouldn't give up, so I can't either! If I do, I'll be a disgrace to her and the rest of our fleet!_

With a determined glint in her eye, Fubuki turned back to the training grounds. With her cannons loaded, she aimed at a training dummy in the distance, then fired.

 _We are warships,_ she thought as she watched her shell sail through the air. _We were made to fight, and to defeat the enemy. And that's exactly what we'll do._

* * *

"Admiral, what's this?"

"Don't touch that!" Drake exclaimed, taking his passport out of Sendai's hands and shoving it back into the drawer. "Seriously, do you have to go around touching everything you can get your hands on?"

Sendai pouted. "But your house is so interesting…"

"It's really not," Drake replied, unsure of how she could possibly find the place 'interesting.' There wasn't anything special in his flat aside from the usual household appliances.

Just then, a knock sounded on the door. Sendai excitedly rushed to open it, revealing Kaga and Akagi.

"Hello!" Akagi greeted. "See, Kaga? I told you we weren't early."

"Actually, you are," Sendai said with a grin. "I'm just even earlier!"

"She's been here for half an hour," Drake added, already tired of having to simultaneously entertain and control the energetic light cruiser.

"I came over as soon as the sun went down! A night battle with the Admiral!" Sendai declared.

Drake sighed. "Don't put it that way, please… Anyway, since you're here, just make yourself at home, I guess. I got all the stuff you asked for, so…"

"Ah, the bauxite!" Akagi exclaimed as she saw the tub full of resources on the kitchen counter, beside other food and drink items. "Admiral! Thank you!"

Before Drake could even respond, the gluttonous carrier rushed past him and immediately began stuffing her face. Drake looked on in a mixture of mild disgust and amazement.

"That must have been expensive," Kaga said, also eyeing the bauxite tub.

Drake shrugged. "I just took it from one of the resource dumps. Hopefully it's not a significant enough amount that people will notice it missing…"

Kaga sighed, but said nothing else on that matter. "So, what movie are we going to watch today? You can tell us now, right?"

"I guess. It's called _Titanic_. You've heard of that ship, right? It was pretty famous back then."

"I believe so. It was a British passenger liner that sunk, correct?"

"Yeah. The movie is about that event."

Drake wasn't a big fan of romance films, but there was something about this one in particular that stuck with him. Maybe it was because he liked tragedies, or it might have been because the sea setting appealed to him. He _was_ an admiral, after all.

"But wouldn't we already know the ending, then?" Kaga asked. "The movie can't possibly be interesting since we already know what's going to happen."

"Oh, don't be so sure about that," Drake replied with a smirk. "The sinking of a ship isn't all there is to this movie… Though admittedly I did choose it because it was about a ship. I thought maybe you girls could connect with it more that way."

The corner of Kaga's mouth kicked upwards in amusement. "I don't think it works quite that way, sir."

"Whatever. It's still a great movie either way. You'll see."

Soon enough, the rest of the fleet began to arrive, and Drake's house was filled with a lively chatter as they all gathered together and talked among themselves. To the admiral himself, the situation felt strange. There he was, an American in his house on a Japanese naval base, having a party with a group of warships personified as human girls. When he first joined the Navy, Drake never in his wildest dreams expected to be doing something like this.

 _Also, it feels kind of awkward being the only guy here,_ he thought to himself. _It feels like I'm in a harem anime, except none of my harem members are actually in love with me._

Just then, a knock sounded on the door, and Drake went over and opened it to reveal the final missing member of their fleet: Bismarck. When the German ship girl entered, there was a moment of awkward silence before everyone went back to what they were doing. Mostly everyone, at least.

"What's she doing here?!" Amatsukaze demanded to know, evidently still salty from the other day. "I thought this was supposed to be a celebration for the first sortie, which she wasn't even on!"

Bismarck frowned angrily. "I was ordered to come, so I came. Don't blame me."

Suzuya also lost some of her usual cheer as she spotted the battleship. "Hey, Admiral, why's she here?"

Drake suppressed a sigh. He knew something like this would probably happen. "You two, stop making a fuss. Bismarck is your fleetmate now, so you better get along with her. I'm sure she's very sorry for anything rude she said to you before, so can't you just move past that already?"

Bismarck's frown deepened as Drake spoke for her, but she did not outright deny his words, so the admiral took that as a victory.

"Whatever," Amatsukaze said, turning away and going back to the other destroyers.

"Hm… All right," Suzuya gave in, not willing to ruin the entire party over something like that. "I'll just pay ya back in training later, Bismarck!"

"See? I told you you could get along with them," Drake said to Bismarck once the two Japanese ship girls went back to whatever they were doing.

"I don't think that is considered 'getting along with them,'" Bismarck snorted. "They barely tolerate me as it is. Not that I care, though."

Drake shook his head in disappointment. Of course things couldn't be that easy.

The rear admiral then stepped towards the front of the room, causing everyone to quiet down.

"All right, everyone, welcome," he greeted, "for tonight's showing, we will be watching the movie _Titanic_ , about the British ship that sunk in 1912. It's a good movie, so make sure you pay attention… Maybe I'll make you take another quiz about it next week during training."

The ship girls groaned at that, which caused Drake to smirk.

"I'm kidding, obviously. Anyway, that's really all I have to say, so I'll just start the movie now."

There weren't that many seats around the television in Drake's living room, so the fourteen of them had to make do with what they had. The couch barely fit about four people, and Drake ended up squished in between Yamakaze, who latched onto his sleeve as if they were about to watch some horror film, and Bismarck, who no one else evidently wanted to sit next to. The rest of the girls either sat on the floor or on extra pillows or bedsheets.

After someone dimmed the lights, causing Yamakaze to clutch Drake's arm even more tightly, the movie started. At first, the ship girls were excited about watching a movie and kept making comments about the film, but as time went on, they grew more and more silent.

The movie itself was fairly long, but nobody seemed to have a problem with that. Even Drake, who had already seen _Titanic_ before, wasn't bored, though he did feel a bit uncomfortable about being pressed so closely against two other people, especially during the more… awkward scenes. Yamakaze also did not let him go for the entire movie, which Drake didn't really mind because she was just so cute, but there were times where he thought he would lose circulation to his right arm.

When the movie finally ended and the credits began rolling, there was silence again. Though he had already seen the movie before, Drake couldn't help but feel a dull ache in his chest afterwards, which was the same feeling (which he liked, to be honest) that he got whenever he finished a tragedy. He could also hear a few muted sniffles, so at least a few of the other girls felt some emotion, which was encouraging. A lot of people considered it corny to cry at the end of a movie like _Titanic_ , so at least he wasn't completely alone in liking the film a lot.

"All right, that's all," the rear admiral concluded, standing up and slowly turning the lights a bit brighter. "It's probably well past midnight by now, so you all should go home and get some sleep."

"Admiral! That was so sad!" Suzuya exclaimed, also getting up. "I thought this was supposed to be a fun party!"

"I thought it was beautiful," Haruna said, speaking up in defense of the film.

"See? At least one of you has good taste," Drake said. "Think of this movie as encouragement to do your best on the battlefield. See how much tragedy a sinking ship can bring?"

"R-right, sir!" Akagi agreed in between sniffles, then held up the empty bauxite tub. "B-by the way, you're out of b-bauxite."

 _Are you crying because of the bauxite or because of the film?_ Drake wondered inwardly.

"Well then," Bismarck started, getting up and stretching. "I'm leaving. Gute nacht, Admiral."

"Good night," Drake returned as she left. _Guess she didn't find it too sad, though I doubted she would in the first place. Maybe it was because it was a British ship?_

"Admiral, you can't kick us out just yet!" Sendai protested. "The night is still young! There's still time for a night battle!"

"Yahagi, please take Sendai home," Drake simply said, far too tired to deal with the night battle enthusiast's antics.

"Yes, sir," Yahagi replied as she dragged Sendai out of the house. Kashima followed closely behind, waving goodbye as she returned to the dorm building she shared with the two light cruisers.

"We'll be leaving too, Admiral," Fubuki piped up.

"Y-yeah, g-goodnight," Amatsukaze said, trying to hide her teary eyes.

Drake couldn't help but smile slightly. "Good night, you two. Did Yamakaze already leave?"

Fubuki and Amatsukaze looked at him like he was insane, and he then realized that the green-haired destroyer was hiding behind him, lightly holding onto his sleeve.

"Uh… Can I help you?"

"Y-you said it wouldn't be scary…" Yamakaze said, her tone accusatory.

"Oh, come on. It wasn't scary at all," Drake replied with a sigh. "Don't tell me you're too scared to walk home by yourself…"

Yamakaze blushed and looked away. "I don't like the dark…"

The rear admiral frowned. "Can someone please walk Yamakaze back?"

"I'll do it, sir," Haruna volunteered. "You wouldn't be scared with a battleship protecting you, right, Yamakaze?"

The timid destroyer shot a nervous glance at her admiral, but reluctantly let go of him and followed Haruna out, along with the other two destroyers.

 _And to think that she's a warship easily capable of killing a man._ Honestly, if there was one thing he learned from tonight, it was that all the ship girls were definitely human. They had emotions and feelings just like everyone else, and they were far more than just ordinary weapons.

The rest of the fleet left soon after, and the last two to leave were Kaga and Akagi. Kaga offered to stay behind to help with the cleanup since she was the Secretary Ship, so Akagi went on ahead.

"What did you think of the movie, Kaga?" Drake asked once they were alone, curious about the stoic carrier's opinion.

"Hm? It was fine, I suppose," she replied as she tossed an empty juice bottle into the trash can.

 _Yeah, I shouldn't have expected much else out of her_.

"But… It was strange, though," she then continued. "I have always thought the sinking of a ship to be a tragic event because of how much time, effort, and money is spent on the vessel, not to mention that the utility of a ship far outweighs the usefulness of a single human. However, in this movie, though the ship sinking was unfortunate, the main focus seemed to be on the humans, and how their losses were actually far worse… In the end, why does the death of a single human mean so much? Even to me, I felt far more impacted by a human's death than the sinking of the actual _Titanic_ … That surprised me."

Drake was a bit amazed that Kaga thought so deeply into the movie, but it made sense.

"Maybe it's because you're no longer just a ship now," he pointed out. "You're a human as well, right? So it's only natural that the suffering of humans would resonate more deeply with you. I guess I can't really explain it that well, but… There's just much more you can experience in a human body. During your time in World War II, you couldn't feel sadness, love, or any sort of emotion. Though you can look back at that time and feel emotions about it now, that's only because you're in a human body, and you are now able to translate what you felt back then into the emotions you feel today."

Kaga looked at the floor, her eyes far away. "That is what I thought as well, but… Even though I know all that, it is still difficult for me to understand these types of emotions. I am sure you have noticed this by now, but I… I am not as outgoing or expressive as the other girls. Maybe that is just my nature, but I think it's because I still don't understand these emotions that this new body has bestowed upon me. I feel as though I am… Lacking in that regard."

Drake stood silently for a few seconds, not sure of what to make of that. This all seemed like very personal information, so he wondered why she was sharing it with him. Kaga herself realized that as well, and she blushed slightly as she turned away, embarrassed that she had let all that slip out.

"You're wrong about yourself," Drake finally said. "You remember a couple days ago when we were talking about the Battle of Tangier? You said you would 'fight by my side until the end.'"

Kaga's blush deepened. "That's…"

"You are the only one who's ever said anything like that to me," the rear admiral continued on. "Nobody's ever brought up the Battle of Tangier with me, and no one's asked me about what happened that day, not even my own family. That's pretty much the way I wanted it, since I don't like to talk about how I acted back then, but for some reason, you still asked me about it. And… And I'm glad you did."

Drake cursed inwardly as he felt his own face heat up at saying that. _God, I probably sound so pathetic right now…_

"Admiral…" Kaga's golden eyes shined briefly with emotion before she blinked and her expression returned to its normal mask, though she did wear a small smile. "Admiral, thank you. You always find the right words to say."

"I could say the same about you," Drake parried with a smirk, but he really did mean what he said.

The two stood staring at each other for a second before the atmosphere turned from warm to awkward, and Kaga hurriedly turned around.

"W-well, I will be leaving then, sir. Good night."

"Yeah, good night," Drake responded as the aircraft carrier left.

 _Hm… I've always preferred working alone, but I think we make a good team,_ the American mused as he finished cleaning up the living room. _Maybe being posted here in Japan was a good thing after all._


	10. Coming to America I

Drake sucked in a breath as he dodged the right hook, barely avoiding a black eye. However, he didn't have much time to rest as a kick came rushing towards his chin. He crossed his forearms in an 'X' shape to block it, but the impact from the strike still hurt quite a bit as it reverberated throughout his forearms. Gritting his teeth in pain, the admiral slipped backwards and away from his opponent as he reformed his stance.

Suzuya smirked at him from her position opposite from him, her stance mirroring his.

"Can't just go an' throw us to the ground like ya used to, huh, Admiral?"

"You've gotten better," he acknowledged as he wiped the sweat from his brow. "I think that's enough for today."

The rest of the ship girls who were busy sparring on the sands of the beach also stopped soon after, eager to break for lunch. Since they now had thirteen ships in their fleet, the girls could no longer pair off one-on-one for CQC training, so they either had uneven matchups or they trained on the beach where Drake could be someone's sparring partner. Unfortunately (or fortunately), the ship girls were much more skilled than they used to be at CQC, so Drake could no longer slip past their defenses and toss them around.

The admiral sat on a rock and drained half of a water bottle in two deep gulps. The ship girls filtered out of the beach and made their way towards the interior of the base, leaving Drake alone with the sea breeze and the sound of the waves. It had been about two weeks since their 'party,' and so far, nothing of note had happened. It was now getting towards the end of fall and the temperature was beginning to drop, something Drake actually welcomed since he was not a fan of hot weather. The fleet continued to train as usual, with the addition of Bismarck being the only real change. Speaking of Bismarck, she was still not very well-liked by the other girls, though they were slowly warming up to her now that she wasn't acting prickly towards them. The only people she really got along with were Drake and maybe Kaga, but the admiral hoped that would change soon enough.

Drake took a breath of the salty, crisp air and immediately felt rejuvenated. He finished off the last of the water bottle and stood up, stretching a bit before heading towards the inside of the base as well.

Though the atmosphere in the base was peaceful on the surface, there was a hidden layer of tension underneath. As evidenced by their building of airfields in the Indian and Pacific Oceans and the appearance of the Airfield Princess, the Abyssals were becoming more and more active. However, ever since the bombing of the base, they had been suspiciously quiet. Barring the ridiculous idea that the Abyssals had just given up and crawled back into the deep blue, this could only mean one thing: they were gearing up for a large offensive. Drake could see no other reason why the Abyssals were quiet for so long unless they were planning something or stockpiling resources.

 _Their last two major missions were essentially failures, though… I wonder what they will try next._

Whatever it was, it had to be something that would finally give the Abyssals a victory. The Abyssal Fleet hadn't had a big win since Tangier, and that was years ago. If they operated even remotely similarly to a normal navy, then they would need to boost morale somehow. As it stood right now, the Abyssals were losing… However, that assessment was only superficial. It was like saying someone lost a fight because he got a minor injury and his opponent was unscathed; nothing significant enough had happened yet to truly declare winners and losers.

 _And that's why the next strike is crucial. Whoever can deliver the next big victory will truly turn the tide of the war in their side's favor._

Drake ate a quick lunch and then headed to the office, realizing that there was something he forgot to do. Even if he wasn't back to the beach in time, his fleet would continue on with their training, so he didn't really need to be there.

When he entered the office, he found that the other two admirals were in, but that was about it. It seemed the ship girls who were normally there were all off on their lunch break or were training.

"Fleet Admiral," Drake greeted in Japanese, stepping up to Miiro's desk. "I've got a question about the ship girls at this base who aren't aside to a fleet. What are they supposed to be doing?"

"Ah… Those girls," Miiro said as he scratched his chin. "Well… They aren't really doing anything. They partake in the base's standard training program in case they are needed, but other than that…"

"Then why aren't we using them?" the American questioned. "They seem kind of useless if they're just going to sit there. If Japan doesn't need them, then…"

"We do need them," Rear Admiral Genji quickly said as he joined the discussion, not willing to give over resources as valuable as ship girls to another country.

"How? Nobody uses them," Drake countered. "They can actually be of use in places like the US, where we only have two ship girls and no destroyers or light cruisers at that."

"Well, they are in reserve here," Miiro added unhelpfully, though he was obviously against the idea of sending them to the US as well.

 _Wow, Japan really doesn't want to part with any of them,_ Drake thought. _I'm glad Germany never followed up on the ship girls I was supposed to have promised them in exchange for Bismarck…_

"I do think he has a point, though," Genji then said, turning to Miiro. "Why aren't we using them? They're just sitting there."

Miiro frowned unsurely. "Standard doctrine in the Kancolle Program says that an admiral can command twelve ship girls, or two fleets, most efficiently."

"But the admirals at Sasebo command four fleets each," Genji pointed out gruffly. "Are you saying we're only half as good as they are?"

"Hm… No, but… Perhaps there is a reason why Sasebo is the main base."

Genji gave the fleet admiral a look of disbelief, and Drake decided to step in.

"For those of us who want to, how about we each take another fleet's worth?" he suggested. "I'll take five since I already have Bismarck, and Genji can take six. It won't be as many as Sasebo's admirals so it will be less of a workload, and there's no rule saying we absolutely have to use them if we train them, right? At any rate, this is definitely a better option than just having them waste their time on training skills that they aren't using."

Genji nodded in agreement, and Miiro gave his consent, though he still looked unsure.

"All right… Though maybe we should consult Nagato about this."

"What? You're the Fleet Admiral, aren't you?" Genji demanded. "You've given your permission, so that's good enough for me."

Without waiting for a reply, Genji stormed out of the office.

Drake also didn't feel the need to wait, so he went over to his desk and pulled up the list of active ship girls at the Tokyo Bay Naval Base. He scrolled through the names and images and read their profiles, trying to decide which ones would be best for his fleet. Unfortunately, there were no training scores or stat sheets or anything like that which would help him make a decision, so he really didn't know which ones to pick.

 _Whatever, I'll just draft the ones I like best, I guess._

However, he realized that he didn't actually know any of them, so he couldn't even make a decision based on that. He thought about asking the other destroyers in his fleet which ones he should pick, but he didn't want to start any arguments among them, so in the end he decided to just do it himself.

The American stepped out of the Administrative Building and into the afternoon sun. _Most of the girls are probably on lunch break right now, so this might be my only chance to see them all in one place, unless I'm willing to go snooping around the destroyer dorms… Which is probably not a good idea._

Most of the ship girls (especially the numerous destroyers) ate at the main cafeteria, so Drake decided to head there first. Though he'd been living at the base for some months now, he had only been to the cafeteria once or twice, and he had never actually eaten there. The cafeteria itself was a large, open room with dull gray walls and flooring, so there was nothing particularly interesting about it. Rows of tables filled the building, and it appeared that about a third of the room was occupied by sailors while the rest of the tables were taken by the ship girls. The two groups seemed to be completely heterogeneous, not mingling with each other very much.

Drake then realized he had no idea what he was actually doing there. Was he just going to stand in the back and stare at them like some stalker? Or should he go up and announce, "Hey, who wants to join my fleet?" Or would that be too forward?

 _Gah, I should have just told Kaga or Shoukaku to do this…_

He slowly began walking towards the side of the room where the ship girls were. _Why do I feel awkward? I'm the Admiral, aren't I?_

Something then brushed past his right side, slightly throwing him off balance. He turned around to glare at the offender, but was surprised to be met with an equally harsh glare from a pair of blue eyes, belonging to a ship girl with a short pink ponytail.

"Please excuse me, sir," she said, though her tone didn't match her words.

Drake was about to return to his task, but something about the girl caught his eye. She was obviously a destroyer based on her small size and cute appearance, but her expression was definitely not one he had ever seen before on a teenage girl.

"Hey, you," he called out, stopping her in her tracks. She turned around, clearly annoyed. "What's your name? What fleet are you with?"

"Shiranui of the Kagerou-class destroyers," she responded tersely. "I'm in the reserve fleet."

 _Oh? How convenient._ "The reserves, huh? Must be nice, sitting around at the base while everyone else is out there fighting and risking their lives."

As expected, Shiranui bristled at that. "You have no clue what you're talking about, sir. It's not as if I chose to stay on the reserves."

"Yeah, whatever. Doesn't change the fact that you're basically just taking up space here at the base."

The pink-haired destroyer grit her teeth in anger and her blue eyes flashed with fury, but she evidently realized it wouldn't be in her best interests to pick a fight with an officer, so she begrudgingly turned away and tried to leave.

"But it doesn't have to be that way, you know," Drake then said, stopping her. "No warship would be content just sitting on the sidelines, right?"

Shiranui turned back around, her eyes narrowing. "What are you saying?"

"You should join my fleet."

During WWII, the pride of the IJN was infamous, and their immense confidence in themselves and sheer stubbornness contributed to their eventual defeat. Because of this, Drake knew that the best way to convince Shiranui to join his fleet was to play to her sense of pride. He could tell from their very first interaction that she was not the type of ship girl to lie down and take slander from an American, so he used that fact against her.

"What?" the destroyer asked, slightly confused.

"I need an extra fleet of screening destroyers and maybe a couple light cruisers," Drake elaborated. "Since there are so many of you who aren't part of an actual fleet, I thought I'd come here and see if anyone wanted to join."

Shiranui raised an eyebrow. "So you're just going around asking us? Can't you just draft six girls without bothering to go through that trouble?"

"I could, but that's not as interesting," he replied somewhat truthfully. "So, what's your answer?"

"What happens if I refuse?"

"Are you going to refuse?"

"No."

"See? Then there's no problem," Drake said with a smirk as he patted the destroyer on the head.

Shiranui slapped his hand away with a frown. "Why are you picking me?"

Drake shrugged. "You're the first one I saw."

Based on how Kaga turned out as his Secretary Ship, Drake thought he had a pretty good track record of making decisions in the Kancolle Program based on little to no basis, so he figured there'd be no point in changing how he did things now.

"That's a terrible reason," she replied with a hint of disgust. "Who else do you plan to pick? You said you needed a whole fleet, right?"

"Yeah… I was hoping you could help me with that. I don't really know anything about you ship girls, aside from the ones in my fleet and the more famous ones."

Shiranui gave him a blank stare, obviously not impressed that he came here with no plan whatsoever. "Right… So you're just going to leave that up to me?"

Drake shrugged noncommittally. "I don't know. Don't you have any recommendations or something?"

The pink-haired destroyer looked back in the direction of the ship girls. "How do you know I won't just pick my sisters instead of the best ships?"

"I don't care who you pick as long as they can do what I need them to," Drake replied. "If anyone isn't up to my standards, then I'll kick them out. That's all there is to it… But I would prefer it if you didn't just pick your sisters. That would probably piss off the other destroyers in my fleet who don't get to sortie with their sisters."

Shiranui nodded. "By the way, isn't Amatsukaze in your fleet? I heard she was under the American's command."

"Oh, that's right, she's a Kagerou-class destroyer as well," Drake said, just now remembering that fact. "So you already have a sister in my fleet, don't you?"

"I suppose. The Kagerou class is so large that it's impossible for me to be close with all of them, though, so I don't really know her that well."

"I see. Well then, you got any other destroyers in mind? I was thinking about taking maybe four destroyers and two light cruisers."

Shiranui looked thoughtful. "The sisters I do know best are already part of other fleets, so… What about those two?"

She pointed in the direction of two destroyers sitting together. One had light brown hair tied up in twintails and crimson eyes eyes while the other had dark brown hair and blue eyes, and though they didn't look alike, their identical dark blue uniforms marked them as sisters.

"Who are they?"

"Murasame and Shigure of the Shiratsuyu class," Shiranui informed him. "They always seem fairly competent during training, so they should be good enough. I'm kind of surprised that they aren't already part of a fleet, so this is your chance."

"Works for me," Drake said. "Anyone else?"

"Aside from them, I'm not really -"

"Shiranui, what are you doing? Training resumes right after lunch," another girl said as she came up to the pair. She had long black hair and bright blue eyes, and she wore a white shirt along with a forest green skirt and black thigh high socks.

Shiranui gave the girl a scrutinizing stare, then turned to Drake. "What about her? This is Asashio, the flagship of our destroyer squadron during training."

Drake looked the ship girl over once, causing her to shift uncomfortably. "Sure."

"W-wait, what is this?" Asashio demanded, shifting her gaze from Drake to Shiranui.

"Admiral Drake said he needs more destroyers for his fleet, so he asked me to join," Shiranui answered tonelessly. "I also recommended you just now, so congratulations. We don't have to sit and watch as the others go on sorties anymore."

"But…" Asashio turned her blue eyes back to Drake and gulped, as if she were gathering the courage to speak to him. "You're the American, correct?"

"Yeah. Got a problem with that?"

"N-no…"

"That's 'no sir' to you."

"No sir!"

Drake smirked at the girl's rapid correction. He didn't actually care about being called 'sir' all the time, but these destroyers were just so cute that he couldn't help but tease them.

"All right, now we have four," he said, "you got another recommendation, Shiranui?"

"I don't know. Murasame and Shigure were really the only ones that stood out to me, and I just picked Asashio since she's here," Shiranui admitted. "Just pick a random girl if you don't care."

Drake's phone then buzzed, and he briefly glanced at it before turning back to the Kagerou-class destroyer.

"Looks like I've got work to do… I'll be in contact later about the rest of the details," he said. "And I'll also figure out the light cruisers later, I guess. That all right with you?"

Shiranui saluted stiffly. "Understood."

Drake then left the cafeteria, picking up his pace and heading back towards the Administrative Building. He really didn't know how much use these new destroyers would be, but it didn't really hurt to have more ship girls. They would most likely just serve as a reserve fleet right now, but even then, reserves were important.

After all, if somebody in his fleet were to die, she would need to be replaced.

* * *

An arrow flew through the air, cutting between the sea breeze and striking a floating target in the distance. Kaga lowered her bow after the arrow struck, her blank expression unchanging even after her shot hit the dead center of the target.

"Is the Admiral back yet?" Shoukaku asked from her position a few meters away from Kaga. She glanced back at the beach but didn't see her commander.

"Looks like he's not coming," Zuikaku assumed as she closed one eye and aimed her bow towards the targets.

Akagi loosed an arrow at the targets as well. "He probably has some paperwork he never finished. He's done this before, hasn't he?"

Zuikaku snorted. "Lazy ass. Seriously, why does he let it pile up like that?"

"You shouldn't talk about him like that, Zuikaku," Shoukaku mildly scolded.

"Yeah, yeah," the twintailed carrier lazily replied, then scowled as her arrow clipped the side of the target.

Zuikaku reached for another arrow, but her gaze was drawn to a figure in the distance. Bismarck zipped through the base's obstacle course, her golden hair flying behind her as she swerved and and fired her guns at the targets on the course.

"She is quite hard-working, isn't she?" Shoukaku said, noticing Zuikaku's staring.

"Hmph. I guess. Probably to make up for her humiliating defeat on her first day here."

"Oh? Are you saying you would have fared better?" Kaga asked as she fired another arrow.

Zuikaku frowned. "Yeah, I am. Got a problem with that?"

"I'd like to see you prove it."

"Now, now, you two shouldn't fight," Shoukaku interrupted, trying to prevent another argument from breaking out. "Let's just focus on our training like the Admiral told us to."

"The hell is the point of this training anyway? We haven't sortied in forever," Zuikaku then complained.

"That's not so bad, is it? At least things are peaceful," Shoukaku replied.

"Oh, please. We're warships. We're only truly alive when we're fighting, and you know it."

Shoukaku wore a downcast expression. "I suppose…"

Feeling slightly guilty that the former Fifth Carrier Division hadn't had a chance to sortie in a long while, Kaga tried to disperse the melancholy atmosphere.

"Well, the Abyssals have not made any significant moves for quite some time, so I expect them to do something big soon," she spoke up. "You two better be in top shape when that happens. You will both be essential parts of the air operations, so failure is not an option."

"Of course we will," Zuikaku proudly stated with a haughty smirk, "and that's when I'll prove that I'm better than you as well! So make sure you don't slack off either!"

 _She's a brat as always, but it's better she be like this than depressed or angry,_ Kaga figured as she ignored Zuikaku's declaration and notched her bow again.

"Hey! Secretary!" Sendai shouted as she and the destroyers sailed over to the carriers. "Can we have a night battle practice today?"

"No," Kaga curtly replied. "Are you finished with your individual training?"

"Yeah! So what do you say?"

"I already said no. You will have to ask the Admiral."

Sendai pouted. "But he'll say 'no' too…"

The rest of the fleet gathered around a few seconds later, ready to move onto the fleet maneuvers portion of training.

"Is the Admiral absent?" Haruna asked, glancing back towards the beach.

"It appears so," Kaga replied. "We should continue as planned, though. We don't need him here to carry out formations practice."

"Wait," Bismarck interjected, "isn't that him right there?"

The girls all turned back towards the beach, and sure enough, the admiral had returned. The fleet sailed back to shore to receive orders for the formation exercises.

"Admiral," Kaga greeted, "your orders?"

"Change of plans," he replied, crossing his arms. "We're going to America."

Kaga blinked in surprise. "Excuse me?"

"A large Abyssal fleet has been spotted off the coast of California, uncomfortably close to the major American city of Los Angeles," Drake explained. "I was recalled there to assist in case of an attack."

"A sortie?" Zuikaku asked, surprised and slightly caught off guard that she was receiving her wish so soon.

"Yeah. Don't know if we'll actually see combat, but I don't see any other reason why the Abyssals would be marshalling their forces in that region."

"Why are _we_ going?" Bismarck then asked. "Can't the Americans handle it themselves? I thought this base was under control of the IJN."

"I'm still a member of the USLN, so I have to go," Drake responded. "And since you're all under my command, you're going to have to come with me. The Kancolle Program is an _international_ force, remember? And the Tokyo Base is responsible for that part of the Pacific anyway, so…"

"I'm surprised the Imperial Government agreed to this," Kaga said. "It seems Japanese-American relations really have improved."

Drake looked away. "Well… They haven't exactly approved of this yet. My superiors at INFCOM are still trying to convince them to allow twelve of their ship girls to sortie to America."

"Uh, so is this like, illegal, then?" Suzuya wondered with an unsure expression.

"I'm sure everything will work out in the end," Drake replied dismissively. "Either way, we don't have time to waste with all that bureaucratic bullshit. Some transport plane from the USLAF is supposed to come over tonight to pick us up, so we're going to have to cut training short for today."

"A night battle!" Sendai cheered, much to everyone's annoyance.

"But how is it supposed to land here if you haven't received clearance yet?" Akagi pointed out.

"What's the base going to do, shoot it down? Like I said, I'm sure the US can secure approval from the Empire _eventually_ , but we don't have the time to wait around for that."

"This is going to blow up in our faces," Zuikaku concluded, suddenly not so enthusiastic about the upcoming sortie now that she knew just how convoluted the situation was.

"Better it blow up in our faces than the Abyssals blow up Los Angeles," Drake countered. "Anyway, it's not like I can disobey this order even I wanted to. They'd probably court-martial me if I don't show up for this battle. So, prepare to leave tonight when I give the signal. Make sure you bring your equipment as well."

"What signal?" Kaga asked.

"Uh… I don't know. Do you guys have cellphones or something?"

"The base issued each of us one, but we don't carry them around with us," the Secretary Ship provided.

"Fine, that will have to do. Kaga, get your phone and meet me at my office. Make sure you get everyone else's numbers as well, and I'll just text you all when it's time to leave. Also, this should be obvious, but don't tell anybody about this."

"Wait," Amatsukaze broke in, "how the hell are we supposed to keep this a secret? Do you honestly think nobody's going to notice us getting on an American plane that lands unauthorized at the base?"

"It's not so much that I don't want them to notice, but that I don't want them to know in advance. That way, they won't be prepared to stop us beforehand. Anyway, that's all I can say for now. I'll explain more on the plane, but I've got things I need to do right now."

With that, the admiral hurried off back towards the Administrative Building, leaving his fleet dumbfounded on the shore.

"Uh… So what are we supposed to do?" Zuikaku asked, still confused.

"Follow the Admiral's orders," Kaga answered simply. "There's nothing more we can do anyway."

"So you're okay with this, Kaga?" Akagi asked. "We're technically disobeying our government…"

"The Admiral said that the Americans would sort that out eventually, and it isn't as if we are being sent off to fight against Japan or Japanese interests. Our one and only enemy remains the Abyssals, so it would actually be detrimental to Japan if we did not take this opportunity to crush them."

Zuikaku smirked. "Wow, you're really bending over backwards to find new ways to suck the Admiral's dick."

"Zuikaku," Shoukaku warned with a disapproving glare, stepping in before the situation could escalate. She then turned to the rest of the fleet. "I agree with Kaga. We should follow the Admiral's orders until told otherwise. Does anyone disagree?"

The fleet was silent, though that was mostly due to the fact that they were so confused.

"Um," Fubuki finally spoke up, "what are we supposed to do if the Fleet Admiral or the base or someone orders us not to go when we're boarding the plane? Do we obey them or our own admiral?"

Shoukaku glanced at Kaga, unsure of how to answer the question. "Um… Well…"

Bismarck then stepped back out onto the water, turning away from the rest of the fleet.

"Bismarck, where are you going?" Shoukaku asked unsurely, still slightly uncomfortable around the prickly German.

"I'm going to return my equipment and package it for transport," she answered curtly. "I'm done standing around here. If you all want to squabble among yourselves about who you're going to take orders from, then go ahead. But I am going to prepare for a real fight, just like a true warship was built to."

The blonde battleship sailed off in the direction of the big, armored equipment building, leaving the Japanese ship girls behind.

"Tch, the nerve…" Zuikaku muttered, but then stepped out onto the water herself. "Well, I'm going to pack my equipment too, Shoukaku. See ya."

The twintailed carrier sailed away as well, and soon after, the remaining ship girls began trickling out after her.

"So I guess that settles it…" Shoukaku said as all the girls except for her, Akagi, and Kaga had left.

"Yes. Who knew we would be going back to America? We haven't been there since Pearl Harbor," Akagi mused. "We probably shouldn't bring that up, though…"

Kaga stepped onto the water as well, staring out towards the horizon with a determined look. The events of her last sortie to sink the Abyssal Princess weighed heavily on her mind, and she was determined not to let the same thing happened again.

 _This time… The Abyssals will not escape me._

* * *

Drake stood just outside the base's main runway, waiting for the scheduled flight to arrive. He pulled out his phone and saw that it was just past 2000 hours, so the plane should be here at any moment. He had already told the rest of the fleet to meet him at the airfield, so he hoped that the plane would be on time so that they wouldn't all just be suspiciously standing around the runway. So far, no one had questioned him about the night flight, so he assumed that his fleet didn't tell anyone about it and that the base hadn't heard from their own government yet.

A pair of footsteps sounded from behind him, and Drake turned around, expecting to see someone from his fleet. Instead, he was met with the sight of Nagato. The tall, black-haired battleship crossed her arms as she fixed him with her red stare.

"Going somewhere, Admiral Drake?"

 _Shit…_ Drake froze momentarily, then decided to just come clean. It wasn't as if he could hide it at this point.

"I was ordered to take my fleet back to America in case of an Abyssal attack off the coast of California. I can't disobey orders, so if you have a problem with that, take it up with US command."

Nagato said nothing, then smirked. "Hah! The look on your face when I got here was priceless. I didn't think I'd ever get to see that expression on you."

"Uh… What?" Drake asked, confused.

"I already know about your mission," she explained. "Naval Command sent over a message ordering the base not to fire on any American planes that would land here. The Fleet Admiral sent me here in case there are any issues."

"I see," Drake simply replied, now feeling a bit embarrassed that he got so defensive. "So the Empire approved America's request?"

"The message said the approval was still pending, though I suppose our government couldn't risk angering your country by outright denying your flight. Things have really changed since the War," Nagato said a bit wistfully as she walked up beside Drake and waited for the plane.

The pair stood in silence for some time, with nothing but a few lingering seagulls and the distant sound of the rolling waves for company. Drake stole a glance at Nagato. She really was tall, almost as tall as he was, and she was amazingly beautiful as well. Her long black hair swam lightly in the coastal breeze, and her eyes shone like rubies. She turned her head when she noticed his gaze, and Drake quickly averted his eyes, realizing he was staring.

 _Glad I could make such a fool of myself tonight,_ he thought bitterly.

"Admiral," she suddenly spoke up, "do they still make those bombs? The nuclear weapons?"

Drake thought the question was incredibly random until he remembered how Nagato was actually sunk by one of them. Still, he decided to ask her about it.

"Yeah. Why do you ask?"

She frowned. "No particular reason, I suppose."

"You know how humans are. We're always looking for better ways to kill each other."

"Good thing you have the Abyssals to do that for you instead now, right?" Nagato said with a smile. "... Sorry, I shouldn't joke about that."

"Well, you're not wrong, I guess. But speaking of the Abyssals… Do you believe we can win this war?"

Nagato smirked at him again. "It's not very encouraging to hear the Admiral ask something like that…"

"Hey, I never said we couldn't," he defended. "I just wanted to hear your opinion since you're one of the more experienced ship girls at this base."

Nagato was silent for a moment as she contemplated the question. "I would like to say yes, but… I can't shake the feeling that the Abyssals are hiding their true strength from us. They have not struck with the same fury they did at the Battle of Tangier for quite some time now, even though we know they are capable of it. I feel the worst is yet to come, and because of that, I cannot make a proper judgement right now."

"That answer doesn't seem very optimistic," Drake observed.

"Maybe not, but still, that is no excuse to slack off," the battleship replied firmly. "If we do, then we will be destroyed for sure. The only alternative is to fight, and I will do so until my last breath."

"Agreed," the American said as he clenched his fists. The horrors and humiliation he experienced at Tangier were as fresh in his mind as ever, and he would make sure that the Abyssals paid their fair share.

A few dots of light then became visible in the night sky, and Drake realized that they must belong to the plane. As the aircraft approached, Drake's fleet also began to arrive.

"Admiral! It's night battle time!" Sendai greeted enthusiastically as she lugged her guns behind her in a package made specifically for transporting the weapons. "So, what - Eh?!"

The light cruiser stopped dead in her tracks as she noticed Nagato.

"Don't worry, I'm not here to stop you," Nagato simply said.

"Um… Okay," Sendai nervously replied, and the rest of the ship girls who arrived shortly after Sendai also gave Nagato cautious looks.

The plane then landed, barreling down the runway and reducing its speed before taxiing back towards the fleet.

"Wow, what type of plane is that?" Akagi asked with eyes filled with wonder.

"Don't know. It's some type of cargo plane or something," Drake answered unhelpfully.

"The planes in this era have really changed," Shoukaku remarked. "I think it will be a great experience to fly on it!"

However, aside from the carriers, the remainder of the fleet did not seem very enthusiastic about boarding the plane.

"T-that thing is perfectly safe, right?" Amatsukaze asked shakily.

"It's so big… How is it supposed to fly?" Kashima wondered as she gave the plane a worried glance.

"Airplanes can get a lot bigger than this, trust me," Drake said. "And yes, it's very safe, so you have nothing to worry about."

"Admiral! I don't want to go!" Yamakaze suddenly protested as she clutched his sleeve tightly.

Drake sighed. "It's not as scary as it looks, okay? I'll be right beside you the whole time."

"Yeah, but you being there isn't going to make the flight any safer, is it?" Zuikaku added unnecessarily.

The admiral shot her a glare before turning to the rest of the fleet. "Look, the carriers are perfectly fine with this, so there's nothing to worry about, all right?"

"Are you Rear Admiral Drake?"

Drake turned around to see that two men had stepped out of the plane. They wore dark green slacks and appeared to be USLAF personnel.

"Yeah, that would be me," he said, unsure of why they were asking him that since he was the only guy dressed in an American Navy uniform on the base. "Are we ready to leave?"

"Fuel should be good, so yeah. I'm Captain Brackett, by the way," the man lazily introduced before glancing at the ship girls. "They need any help getting their equipment inside?"

"They're fine," Drake replied. Ship girls were many times stronger than a regular human. "Can we board, then?"

"Yeah, go ahead. We're just going to do a few quick checks and then we'll take off."

The loading dock on the back of the plane opened, and the ship girls began filing inside with their equipment, albeit a bit reluctantly.

"Damn, some of them look really… Vibrant," the USLAF airman noted as Yamakaze and her bright green hair walked by. "Oh, hey, is that Bismarck?"

Bismarck stopped as she heard her name called. She glared at Brackett. "What?"

"Yeah, it is you! Still got that same Nazi uniform, I see," he said as he chuckled. "I was in the plane that dropped you off at this base, remember? You looked like you were one second away from throwing up for the entire trip. Hah!"

The German flushed red in embarrassment. "T-that isn't true!"

She then huffed off into the cargo hold, not giving Brackett any chance to reply.

"Haha! Make sure she doesn't get it on your uniform, Admiral," Brackett joked as he went over to the front of the plane where the other airman was conducting checks.

"Well then, good luck," Nagato said before Drake boarded the plane.

"Thanks. I'll bring everyone back safely," he assured her.

 _I hope._


	11. Coming to America II

Kongou flung open the doors to the main office of the Administrative Building, grinning brightly as she entered.

"Good morning, everyone!"

However, instead of returning her greeting, the two occupants of the room, Ooyodo and Rear Admiral Genji, simply glared at her. Ooyodo was on the phone with someone, so Kongou's loud intrusion understandably annoyed her, and as for Genji, he was always angry with Kongou for one reason or another.

"Can I help you?" Genji asked sourly as Kongou approached.

"I'm the Secretary Ship, desu. Shouldn't I be asking you that?"

Genji snorted in amusement. "Yeah, right. You _do_ remember what happened the last time I had you write a report, correct?"

"That's because you didn't show me how to do it beforehand!" Kongou pouted. "See, this is why I don't even bother showing up anymore. You're rude!"

"Go tell it to someone who gives a fuck. Now, if you don't have anything important to say, please exit and stop making a ruckus."

Kongou ground her teeth. Genji always knew just how to ruin her day.

"I'll have you know that I actually do have something important to say. In fact, it's very important."

"Then spit it out."

"You'll have to apologize to me first," Kongou answered smugly, crossing her arms.

"Is that so? I wonder if you'll still be saying that after I court-martial and scrap you for withholding essential information from a superior."

Kongou frowned in frustration. "Shitty Admiral… Fine. If you must know, then there were some sailors from Sasebo who came in this morning talking about two big operations in the Pacific. They said that there were rumors of a big Abyssal fleet gathering off the coast of America, and that there's also Abyssal activity by the Midway Atoll."

"Huh? You came here to report rumors?" Genji asked as he scowled.

"Actually, those rumors may be more than that, sir," Ooyodo said as she got off the phone. "That was from the Sasebo Base, saying more or less what Kongou just reported."

"See?" the battleship grinned victoriously as she puffed out her chest.

"I guess that explains why we received that message about the American aircraft last night," Genji realized as he rested back in his seat. "So, did Admiral Drake leave, then?"

"According to the signal data from the airfield, an American plane did land here last night, so I would assume so," Ooyodo confirmed. "Though the Fleet Admiral did not say anything about it…"

"Oh, so _that's_ where Haruna was last night!" Kongou exclaimed.

Genji gave her a look of disbelief. "Your sister was gone for the entire night and you didn't even notice?"

"Hmm… She said something about an overnight training exercise, but I guess she went to America," Kongou said. "Lucky! I can't believe she got to go and I didn't, desu!"

Genji turned to Ooyodo. "Naval Command actually approved that?"

Ooyodo shrugged lightly. "I haven't heard anything, sir."

"Well, whatever," he sighed. "What about this thing at Midway?"

"We've picked up light Abyssal activity there, but nothing significant as of yet," the black-haired ship girl elaborated. "Either way, the Sasebo Base wants us to survey the area since we are closer and the US fleet is tied up with their own operation."

Genji nodded. "Kongou, prepare to sortie. We're leaving for Midway."

"Eh?! Right now?"

"Yes. Did you not hear her?"

"Er, perhaps we should wait for the Fleet Admiral's approval, sir," Ooyodo cautioned.

"If it's an order from Sasebo, I don't need his approval," Genji curtly replied. "Come, Kongou."

* * *

Rear Admiral Richard Drake sat in a small office at Point Mugu, California, idly looking around the room and waiting for someone to enter. After the long flight to the West Coast, the plane had landed here, a naval air station just north of Malibu. Drake didn't know how long the flight had been since he drifted in and out of consciousness at some points, but it was now very late at night here in California. Most of the ship girls also managed to get some sleep, but not before they nearly drove Drake insane due to their constant freaking out over the plane ride. Thankfully, they got used to it once they realized that the plane would not in fact crash, though there were some of them (namely Yamakaze) who once again refused to leave Drake alone, so it was a miracle that he even managed to get any sort of rest on the ride over.

When they landed, Drake had immediately been separated from the ship girls and ushered into the building where he currently sat. The base personnel said they would take the girls to some sort of waiting area, so Drake hoped that they were behaving themselves now that they were in America for the first time.

The door then opened, revealing a man with close-cropped copper hair and a white uniform similar to Drake's own. However, what was different were the three stars on his shoulders, causing Drake to stand up and salute as he entered.

The man returned the salute, then sat down across from Drake.

"Rear Admiral Drake, I presume?" he asked. "I am Vice Admiral Abbott. Did you just arrive now?"

"Yes, sir."

"Okay then. Sorry to do this to you, but we need you to move out as soon as possible, so we need your fleet of… Ship girls, was it? Yes, we need them ready to sortie by tomorrow morning. Is that possible?"

"Yes, sir," Drake replied. "What about tonight? Are we staying at the base? Where's the rest of the American fleet?"

"Right… Carrier Task Force Bravo is stationed off the coast of Santa Monica right now. We're just monitoring the Abyssal activity at the moment, which is growing as we speak. We think that they may be ready to attack by tomorrow, if they do at all," Abbott explained. "As for where you'll be staying, Fleet Admiral Wei wanted your fleet down there immediately, so you'll be staying at some sort of hotel in Santa Monica in case of a night attack. Your equipment will be shipped out to the fleet tonight, so you don't have to keep carrying it around.

"Uh, what about the ship girls? Won't they draw attention to themselves?" Drake pointed out. Some of those girls had some pretty strange outfits and hair colors, and one of them was dressed like a literal Nazi.

Abbott scratched his chin. "About that… Yeah, not sure. Just so you know, nobody has told me anything aside from the barebones, so that's your problem, sorry. However, if you're worried about causing distress among the public, don't bother. It's pretty hard to hide an entire carrier task force, so everyone in this area already has the suspicion that something is up after fishermen and the like started being prevented from sailing past a certain point. And half the general public already believes the rumor about the Kancolle Program, so it's not as if that's a big secret either."

"Okay…" _Seems like command was too caught up in worrying about the Abyssals and the Japanese government to fully think this through._ "Anything else I should know about, sir?"

Abbott slid a folder across the desk towards him. "In there is as much information we could compile in the few hours we had. Your hotel rooms and stuff like that should be in there."

Drake flipped it open. _Wow, this hotel's actually pretty nice. Also, it looks like the main thrust of the operation will be the Carrier Task Force and… The Iowa and Saratoga?!_

"The American ship girls are part of this operation as well?" Drake asked.

"Yes. It's not as if we could afford to leave them out," Abbott said. "I don't really know much beyond that, so you're better off asking Fleet Admiral Wei. He's the one in command of this sortie."

Drake then turned to the page which listed the commanders. _Fleet Admiral Wei, Admiral Belle, Vice Admiral Jockey, Rear Admiral Sterrett… There I am. It says I will be in command of the 'Kancolle Units,' so does that mean Iowa and Saratoga as well…?_

The door to the office opened once again, and Brackett entered.

"Sorry to interrupt, but the cars are here for the Rear Admiral."

Abbott nodded to Drake. "Good luck, then. Give the Fleet Admiral my regards."

Drake saluted and followed the airman out of the small office building to what appeared to be an aircraft hangar. Outside of the hangar was a trio of black vans, as well as the thirteen ship girls in Drake's fleet.

"Admiral! What took ya so long?" Suzuya demanded as she noticed him approach.

Drake paused to look over the fleet. _Yeah, they can't be out in public like this…_

"You girls didn't happen to bring a change of clothes, did you?" he asked.

"Huh? Why?" Zuikaku asked.

"You can't walk around dressed like that. You'll draw too much attention to yourselves."

"Why? What's wrong with our outfits?" Amatsukaze asked with a frown.

"Uh, your shirt is see-through if you look closely," Drake bluntly pointed out, causing the destroyer to blush and glare at him. "Not much we can do about it, I guess."

"Yep, you girls will have great time being leered at during your first trip to America," Brackett unhelpfully added with a grin. "Anyway, you should probably get going. Those Navy guys sounded really impatient."

Since they couldn't all fit in one van, Drake had Kaga and most of the battleships and carriers ride in one car while he and the destroyers, the light cruisers, and Suzuya rode in the other. He figured that the capital ships were mature enough to be in a car by themselves, but he didn't really trust people like Sendai or Amatsukaze not to cause an uproar unless they were supervised. The final van carried some of the equipment, but since not all of it could fit without severely weighing the vehicle down, the van would have to make multiple trips back and forth, something that the sailor driving it wasn't very pleased about.

As the cars began moving towards the location of the hotel, Drake sighed softly as he looked out the window. He could already imagine the awkward scene that would unfold when the strangely-dressed group would arrive at the hotel.

"America doesn't really look that different from Japan," Yahagi noted as she looked out the window, staring at the sea along the Pacific Coast Highway.

"Well, the ocean looks pretty much the same wherever you are," Drake said. "But yeah, I guess most big cities aren't too different from each other nowadays. Have any of you been outside of the naval base at all?"

They all shook their heads.

"We've seen pictures of it, though," Amatsukaze quickly added. "It's not like we're completely ignorant of the world."

"I've always wanted to visit America!" Suzuya then exclaimed. "Hey, Admiral, do you think we'll have a chance to go around the city? Santa Monica, I think it was called?"

"Sorry, but no. Like I said, you'll attract too much attention to yourselves. We'll be better off just staying in the hotel rooms."

"You're no fun, Admiral," Sendai pouted. "The city at night would be so fun, though…"

"I must admit, I am curious about American cities as well," Yahagi said.

"Hey, can'tcha just buy us some new clothes?" Suzuya asked Drake. "I'll pay you back, I promise!"

"I can't go clothes shopping for you," Drake replied. "Though now that I think about it, you at least look like you could pass for a regular person. A slightly strange person, but still."

"All right!" the heavy cruiser cheered. "So does that mean you'll take me out into the city!?"

"Er… I still can't. It would be unfair to everyone else, and don't you want to get some sleep before the sortie tomorrow?"

"But we already slept on the plane ride here!"

"What about me? Do I look normal?" Kashima asked.

Drake sighed again. "Nobody's leaving the hotel, all right? Sorry, but that's just how it has to be."

"I knew it, the Admiral hates fun after all," Suzuya said with a frown as she slunk down in her seat. "He just barely let us have that party a while ago too…"

The rear admiral just shook his head and continued looking out the window. As the time passed and the outer reaches of Santa Monica began to crawl into view, Drake felt a small bit of nostalgia. It had been years since he had been in this area, but things hadn't changed at all. He tried to look out at the water to see if he could spot the silhouettes of the carriers, but he realized that they would probably be too far away to see from the shore.

Soon enough, the vans arrived at the hotel. The building was located very close to the beachfront, probably so that the fleet wouldn't have to travel far to get out onto the ocean. As Drake stepped out of the van, he admired the retinue of luxury vehicles that were lined up in front of the vans, waiting to be parked by the valets.

 _Damn, this place really is high-end._

The rest of the fleet also got out of the cars, and most of them stared in wonder at the people, the hotel, the cars, the surrounding area, and just everything in general. This was their first time outside of the naval base, so it was unsurprising that they were so captivated by the sights, sounds, and smells of a real city.

A hotel employee was already outside waiting for the vans, and he immediately rushed over and began talking with the sailors who had been driving the vans, presumably finishing the final arrangements for the rooms. Drake looked around nervously, hoping that his group wasn't getting too many curious stares. Thankfully, it seemed like most people were busy with their own lives, and very few of them even spared the ship girls a glance.

"All right, sir," one of the sailors said to Drake as he handed the rear admiral a pair of cards and a scrap of paper. "These are the keys to your room and your room numbers, and call this number in case you have any questions. Someone should be coming to pick you up at six tomorrow morning to take you out to the task force."

"Thanks," Drake replied, though he wasn't looking forward to waking up early tomorrow.

The sailors then entered the vans again and drove off, leaving Drake and his ship girls outside of the hotel. Not wanting to stand out and draw any more attention to the group, Drake hurriedly went into the hotel with the thirteen girls trailing behind.

The lobby of the hotel was fairly large, and on the opposite end of the lobby was a window which looked out onto the beach. A few guests dressed in expensive-looking outfits passed by, and they whispered among themselves as they walked past the ship girls. The people lounging around in the lobby and the hotel staff also seemed to be quite curious about the ship girls, so Drake quickened his pace towards the elevators, just wanting to get himself out of view before someone caused a scene.

As Drake mashed the button for the elevator, the ship girls were still taking in the sight of the hotel with wide eyes.

"Wow, this place is really nice," Akagi said, staring up and looking at the top floors which could be seen from the lobby.

"It's so big," Fubuki agreed.

"I hope the rooms are just as nice, considering we won't be allowed outta them," Suzuya pouted, still not over Drake's refusal to take them out into the city.

The elevator doors then opened, and to Drake's chagrin, three men dressed in suits emerged. Their jaws dropped as they saw the thirteen girls, and Drake resisted the urge to sigh in frustration.

"Evening, ladies," one of them said with a grin as the group passed by.

Another one clapped Drake on the shoulder, giving him a wink. "Good work, sailor!"

Drake just walked into the elevator as fast as he could, and the rest of the fleet followed after staring curiously at the trio. The elevator became increasingly uncomfortable as all fourteen of them tried to fit, and Drake cringed as he felt someone knee him in right in the groin.

 _Could this night get any worse?_ He thought with tears of pain in his eyes.

"Admiral, what floor - hey, watch where you're standing!"

"Shut up! Your foot was on mine first!"

"Hey, who's pulling on my uniform?"

"Wahh!"

Drake groaned internally as he forced his way through the crowd and the cacophony and pushed the '4' button, finally getting the elevator to move. _I hope this thing doesn't break…_

The elevator managed to make it up safely, and the large group spilled out of the doors as they opened onto the fourth floor. Drake fished around in his pocket for the keys and scrap of paper.

"Okay… It looks like we're in rooms 414 and 415," he announced, reading off the paper.

He led the fleet down the hall and towards the rooms, thankfully not running into anymore guests along the way. However, when they got to the rooms, Drake paused.

 _Wait… How are we all supposed to fit into two rooms?_ It appeared that in their haste, the Navy really did forget to work out a lot of the minor details.

"Uh, so, we only have two rooms," Drake started, turning towards the fleet. "I'll take 415, I guess, so you're all just going to have to fit into 414 somehow."

"Wait!" Amatsukaze cried. "Why the hell do you get a room all to yourself!?"

Drake rubbed his eyes tiredly. He was still fairly groggy from the flight over, and the added stress of trying to corral the fleet through the hotel and the sortie tomorrow were not helping his mood.

"All right, fine. If anyone wants to share my room with me, then be my guest. I was trying to be considerate of the fact that you're all girls, but I really don't give a shit anymore."

"You're that desperate to sleep with the Admiral, Amatsukaze?" Sendai teased with a smirk.

The speedy destroyer whirled around. "Wha - you know that's not the reason! How are thirteen of us supposed to fit in one room?"

"M-maybe the hotel rooms in America are big enough for all of us?" Haruna said hopefully.

"Yeaaaah, no," Drake answered as he slid in his key and opened the door to his room.

The fleet gathered around the doorway, eager to see how the inside of the room looked. Though the room was probably a bit bigger than the ship girls' dorm rooms, it was still not nearly large enough to house all thirteen of them. The room contained two beds, both of which could fit three people at the most, and an extra sofa bed which could basically only hold one person.

"Okay, so is anyone else going to be staying in this room or not?" Drake asked, eager to get some more rest.

The ship girls were all silent, and they shared awkward glances among each other.

"Amatsukaze, you were the one who asked, so you stay with him," Zuikaku said, nudging the destroyer.

"O-on second thought, maybe we should let the Admiral have the room to himself," Amatsukaze revised, blushing slightly.

"No way! You really think we can fit all of us in a room like this?" Sendai shouted.

"Jesus, keep your volume down," Drake frowned. "And can you hurry this up? We can't be standing out in the hallway like this."

"Fine, I'll go!" Amatsukaze conceded. "So who else is coming?"

The remaining ship girls were quiet again, causing Amatsukaze to groan.

"Come on, you can't expect me to share a room with the Admiral by myself! Er, no offense, sir."

None of the ship girls seemed willing to volunteer, so finally Haruna stepped forward.

"I-I'll go…"

"Why do you girls sound like you're being marched off to the gas chambers?" Drake asked, glancing briefly at Bismarck after realizing his comparison was a bit tasteless. But still, he didn't know sharing a room with him would be _this_ big of a deal.

"Is that everybody, then?" Kaga asked after Haruna volunteered and no one else spoke up. "There is still room for two more to share beds with Amatsukaze and Haruna."

"Why don't you go, then?" Zuikaku asked.

"Please. As if I could leave people like you to your own devices in a room by yourselves."

"Yeah, must be a hard decision, choosing between nagging me all night or cuddling with your beloved Admiral."

"All right," Drake cut in, having had enough of this. "Good night. Make sure you're all ready to leave at six tomorrow morning. If not, I'll have to drag you out of bed. Text me or something if you have any questions."

With that, Drake tossed the second key card to Kaga and entered his room with Haruna and Amatsukaze. He let out a small sigh of relief as the door closed behind him.

"So, who wants which bed?"

"I'll take the futon since I'm the smallest," Amatsukaze offered. "You two can have the beds."

Drake nodded and tossed his cap onto the bed nearest to the door. He then took a quick trip to the head, but when he came out, he realized that he brought no clothes with him and would therefore have to sleep in his uniform.

 _This thing doesn't seem like it would be very comfortable to sleep in,_ he thought as he tugged at his collar. He could take his coat off at the very least, but since he had to share a room with two women, taking off his white dress pants would probably be frowned upon.

Drake shrugged off his coat and threw it onto the bed, then began undoing his belt. His pants weren't loose enough to completely fall off without it, and sleeping with it on would be even more uncomfortable. Unfortunately, as he was doing this, Amatsukaze turned around.

"A-admiral! What are you doing?!"

"Calm down, I'm just taking my belt off," he explained as he slid it out of its buckles and threw it down beside the bed. "Are you two going to sleep in your uniforms? That looks like it would be uncomfortable."

Amatsukaze looked down at her red stockings, which were held up by a pair of metal circles. "Well… It's not like we can really take our clothes off here."

"Fine, your choice," Drake simply replied. "If you're worried about me being here, then don't bother. I've already seen Haruna naked before."

"What?!"

"Admiral!" Haruna yelled in embarrassment. "T-that was…! It's not what you think, Amatsukaze!"

"N-no, it's none of my business," the destroyer said as she blushed and looked away.

"No! Admiral, tell her!"

Drake smirked, enjoying their exaggerated reactions. "Yeah, yeah, it was just an accident."

"Even so," Haruna started after she calmed down, "I didn't know we would be staying here overnight…"

"Seems like nobody really knew what was going on," Drake said. "This whole thing was just half-assed. Hopefully the sortie tomorrow is better-planned."

"Oh, yeah, speaking of the sortie, you never told us our strategy," Amatsukaze pointed out.

"I can't come up with a strategy if I have no details about the situation. Literally all I know is that there's a big Abyssal fleet gathering off the coast of the city."

"Is there anything in that folder that could help?" Haruna asked, pointing to the folder Drake had been given back at Point Mugu.

"Huh? Oh, right." Drake reached for the folder, then flipped it open and saw that it contained some basic information about the expected size of the fleet. "... No, this doesn't really help either. Looks like we'll have to be briefed when we get to the Task Force."

"I see…" Haruna replied apprehensively as she took off her headband.

"So we're going in blind, basically?" Amatsukaze spat in disgust. "Great. Is this really how things are done in America?"

"Hey, I don't like this anymore than you do," Drake argued, "anyway, we'll just have to deal with it. Fleet Admiral Wei is one of the best tacticians in the world, and our fleet hasn't lost a battle yet, so there's nothing to worry about."

"Yeah, don't jinx it," the destroyer replied bitterly, clearly not convinced.

Haruna smiled. "I'm sure everything will be all right…"

Meanwhile, in the room next door, the rest of the fleet had other things on their mind.

"Look! So many people!" Suzuya cried out excitedly as she pressed her face to the window, watching the constant stream of people walking through the streets of Santa Monica.

"Are all cities like this?" Fubuki wondered as she joined the heavy cruiser at the window.

"Who knows… We never get a chance to go anywhere, so it's not like we'd know," Suzuya frowned.

"I wonder what kind of food they have there," Akagi mused as she too glanced out towards the night streets. "I haven't had anything to eat since early last night…"

"Remember, we aren't here to fool around," Kaga cautioned. "We have a sortie tomorrow. Please take this seriously."

"All the more reason why we should be allowed to go out tonight!" Sendai cried out. "What if this is our last night alive?"

"Oh, don't be so dramatic," Zuikaku chided.

"Huh? Are you telling me you're fine with being cooped up in this small room when we could be out having the night battle of our lives?"

"Well…"

Kaga sighed. "No one is leaving this room, and that is final. You heard the Admiral's orders."

"Hmph. I don't see why you all are so insistent on going out there," Bismarck said as she sat down on one of the beds. "All you'll see is excess and stupidity. This is America, after all."

"I'm telling the Admiral you said that!" Suzuya exclaimed.

"Go ahead and tell him. Unlike you, I am not afraid of him."

"All right, we should all rest for tonight," Kaga interrupted. "We must be up and ready to leave before six."

"Um… And how are all of us supposed to sleep in here again?" Kashima asked, looking around unsurely at the room, which was far too small to house eleven women.

Kaga shut her eyes in annoyance. "You all had the chance to sleep in the other room, but you chose to stay in here. You will just have to deal with it."

"I call this bed!" Suzuya cried as she flopped onto the bed nearest to the window.

"No way! You can't have that all to yourself!" Sendai protested.

"Yeah I can. You can sleep on the floor."

"Greedy bitch!"

"Would you all please be quiet?" Kaga asked forcefully, finally getting fed up with the constant bickering. "We will have to sleep three to a bed, with the two destroyers sharing that futon. The remaining three will just have to sleep on the floor."

"Yeah? And how are we going to decide who's going to sleep on the floor?" Zuikaku wanted to know.

"Sleeping on the floor isn't so bad," Kaga countered, trying to stop another argument from breaking out between who would get the beds and who would have to use the floor.

"So I guess you're volunteering, then."

Kaga sighed again. She could definitely understand the Admiral's annoyance now. "Fine. We still need two more, however."

Shoukaku stepped up. "If Kaga is sleeping on the floor, then as the Flagship of the Sixth Fleet, I will as well."

Zuikaku frowned. "Huh? Shoukaku, you don't have to…"

The white-haired carrier gave her sister a smile. "It's just one night, Zuikaku. It isn't a big deal."

"Anyone else?" the Secretary Ship asked.

After a brief moment of silence, Bismarck stood up.

"I don't mind sleeping on the floor, I suppose," she volunteered. The Admiral's words about how she needed to get along with the rest of the fleet nagged her in the back of her mind no matter how hard she tried to ignore them.

Kaga nodded approvingly. "Then it is settled. Everyone, try and get some rest now. We will be up at the crack of dawn tomorrow."

* * *

Murasame flung open the doors to the main office of the Administrative Building, causing Ooyodo to nearly jump out of her seat.

"Not again…" the communications ship girl muttered as the twintailed destroyer charged in much like Kongou had done earlier.

However, unlike with Kongou, a pack of three destroyers were accompanying Murasame, and the four of them glanced around the room before Murasame stomped up to Ooyodo.

"Excuse me, but would you happen to know where Admiral Drake is?"

Ooyodo blinked. "Um… He left for America last night."

"What?!" Murasame cried out in shock.

"I told you he was gone," Shiranui said from behind her.

"No way!" Murasame whined as she pulled on her twintails. "He just left us here?"

"Well… It's not like we're officially part of his fleet yet," Shigure countered.

"'Officially'? What is that supposed to mean?"

"I knew it would be useless to come here," Shiranui interrupted. "Thank you for wasting my time."

Murasame whirled on the pink-haired destroyer. "Oh, come on! You're telling me you're not even slightly annoyed that the Admiral took his fleet on a sortie to America and left us behind?"

Shiranui didn't answer, and Shigure again tried to calm Murasame down.

"We've never even trained with his fleet before, so he couldn't take us out on a sortie already," she pointed out.

"Still, I wish he would have told us he was leaving…" Asashio added, also a bit disappointed at having been left behind.

Murasame, determined not to give up just yet, turned back to Ooyodo. "Ooyodo, you're the head of communications. Don't you have some way to contact the Admiral?"

"Huh? Admiral Drake? I can't do that!"

"Why not?"

Ooyodo frowned angrily. "Did you not hear me before? He's on a sortie in America!"

"You're telling me we really can't contact him because we're too far away? What kind of trashy communications equipment do we have!"

"Actually, we should be able to reach him as long as he's using a military-grade SIM in his phone," Ooyodo defended. "However, that's not the point. I can't just call him for no reason other than a bunch of you destroyers wanted to. What if he's asleep, or in the middle of something important?"

"Then he won't pick up! Can't you try, at least?" Murasame pleaded.

Ooyodo sighed. _God, of all days, why does it have to be this one where everyone in the office goes out and leaves me alone?_

The communications ship girl dialed the numbers to Admiral Drake's cellphone, albeit slightly reluctantly. She held the wired phone up to her ear and listened to a few seconds of ringing before someone picked up.

" _... Hello?"_

"U-um, Admiral Drake…?"

" _Yes. Who is this? Is this someone from the base?"_

"Yes, it's me, Ooyodo. Er, um, sorry to disturb you, but some members of your fleet wanted to speak with you, and I tried to tell them -"

" _Wait, what? All the members of my fleet are here in America."_

"Oh, uh," Ooyodo stammered as Murasame motioned for the light cruiser to hand the phone over. Unsure of what to do, Ooyodo gave in and just handed the phone to the brown-haired destroyer.

"Hello, Admiral? It's me, Murasame."

" _Uh… Oh, right. Why are you calling me? Did you need something?"_

"Well, we wanted to know why you just left us behind not even a day after adding us to your fleet," Murasame answered, slightly annoyed that Drake had momentarily forgotten who she was.

" _You called just for that…? Look, you can't expect me to take you destroyers on a real sortie when you've had no formal training. You've literally just joined my fleet."_

"That's not true! We've been training ever since we got to this base!" Murasame countered.

" _Yeah, but it's not even close to the type of training my fleet does. No offense, but I guarantee that none of you are on the same level as the ships in my fleet."_

Murasame grit her teeth in frustration. "B-but…!"

Asashio then came over and took the phone from Murasame. "Commander! There must be something we can do to help! We're tired of just sitting around and doing nothing, sir!"

" _Er, is this Asashio? Well, if you're really that desperate to sortie, go see if any of the other admirals need anything. I heard something about movement near Midway, so see if you can accompany whichever fleet goes on that sortie as a sort of reserve force."_

"There's a sortie near Midway?" Asashio asked, turning to the other destroyers to confirm.

"Ah, that's Yuudachi's and Kawakaze's fleet," Shigure recalled. "I saw Admiral Genji's fleet out by the docks this morning. That must be where they're going."

Murasame, who had been listening to Asashio's conversation intently, snatched the phone back. "So you're saying we can go on the sortie with Admiral Genji?"

" _Oh, is that who it is? Then yeah, sure, as long as he agrees. Just don't get in his way."_

"All right!" Murasame cheered. "We'll show you just how strong we are, Admiral! You'll regret not taking us with you after you see our performance!"

" _Yeah, whatever. Is Shiranui there?"_

"Um, yeah," Murasame turned to the pink-haired destroyer and held out the phone for her.

Shiranui raised an eyebrow but took the phone nonetheless. "Hello?"

" _Hello, Shiranui? Did you find the two light cruisers yet?"_

"I thought you were going to do that, sir."

" _Did I say that? Well, never mind. I'm leaving that selection up to you."_

"... Are you sure about that, sir? On what criteria should I choose them? I'm not familiar with how the reserve light cruisers perform during training."

" _I don't know, just pick the two cutest ones."_

"What…"

" _I'm kidding. Mostly. Just pick whoever you want, I guess… Sorry, but I don't really have anymore time to talk, so that's all for now. Good luck on that sortie."_

The rear admiral hung up, and Shiranui handed the phone back to Ooyodo.

"We need to get to the docks before Yuudachi and them leave!" Murasame announced, already heading out of the office.

"I have something to do," Shiranui interjected. "You all go, and I will join you soon."

The Kagerou-class destroyer left the room, leaving the three destroyers and Ooyodo in the office.

"What's she doing?" Murasame wondered.

"The Admiral probably gave her some kind of order, probably to find two more light cruisers based on what she was saying," Shigure provided. "This fleet only has four ships, after all."

"Eeeeh? Why her?" Murasame pouted, but quickly perked back up. "Never mind that. We've got to go."

Murasame grabbed her sister's hand, dragging Shigure out of the office. Asashio sighed softly as she ran out of the room, following the other destroyers.

Ooyodo let out a breath as the destroyers left. _Finally, peace…_


	12. Coming to America III

Drake stepped out onto the deck of the small civilian boat, letting the morning California sea breeze tousle his black hair. He looked out onto the ocean, and as the sun began to rise, he could make out the silhouettes of warships on the horizon. It was now sometime after seven in the morning, and as promised, naval personnel had been at the hotel at six in order to pick up the fleet. Afterwards, they had been driven out to some docks nearby the Santa Monica Beach and loaded onto a fishing boat in order to appear inconspicuous. Now, they were en route to the task force which awaited out on the Pacific. Thankfully, the fleet was able to get a few hours of rest overnight without any sort of incident, and since they left the hotel fairly early in the morning, they didn't run into any other people.

The rear admiral turned as he heard footsteps, and he saw Kaga walk up beside him.

"So those are the carriers," she stated as she looked out in the distance at the ships.

"Yeah. What do you think of them?"

She had a complicated look in her eye. "They are… Quite large."

"I guess so. They're nuclear-powered supercarriers," Drake said. "All three were recently built thanks to the Naval Rearmament Act that was passed through Congress a few years ago. I'm still amazed they managed to build them that quickly."

"They are very impressive," Kaga admitted as the boat drew closer. "And they must be armed with the most modern aircraft as well. Are they truly not sufficient to defeat the Abyssals?"

"USS _Liberty's Lament_ was sunk within minutes at Tangier," Drake told her with a frown. "She barely managed to get a handful of planes aloft before she went down, and even then, they were all immediately outmaneuvered and destroyed by the smaller and more mobile Abyssal aircraft. The only ones who can stand up to Abyssal airpower are you ship girls."

"I see…" Kaga tightened her grip on the ship's handrail.

"If they're so useless, then why are they even here?"

Drake and Kaga turned around to see Zuikaku, who was also looking out at the warships.

The American shrugged lightly. "I doubt the Navy would feel comfortable just sending a rear admiral and a handful of girls to defeat an entire Abyssal fleet. Besides, I think they might be of some use as long as they aren't the primary focus of the Abyssals' attacks."

"Are you going to be aboard one of those during the battle, Admiral?" Shoukaku asked, joining her sister on the deck.

"Probably, so I'd appreciate it if you girls don't let any of the enemy planes slip by," he joked, though his stomach churned slightly at the thought of being on a ship during another Abyssal air attack.

"Hmph! You should expect nothing less from us," Zuikaku boasted. "Carrier Division One may have failed their last sortie, but don't underestimate the Shoukaku-class!"

Kaga glared at Zuikaku, and Drake tried to defuse the situation.

"That last sortie was my fault, if anyone's," he said, still a bit embarrassed at how he froze up during the attack. "But that doesn't matter now. We have a new enemy to face, and we can't be crying about past failures."

The rest of the fleet soon emerged on deck as well, curious to get a look at the American fleet. Well, most of them were, at least.

"I'm hungry…" Akagi complained as she staggered over to Kaga. "I haven't eaten anything since we left Japan… I think I'm going to die…"

"There's probably food on the ship," Drake told her. "You'll just have to wait until then. Sorry."

Akagi simply groaned in reply and leaned against Kaga, much to the latter's annoyance.

"Seriously though, those sailors could have at least let us get some of that free breakfast the hotel was offering," Zuikaku said.

"Yes, if only someone didn't make us late by refusing to get up from her dream about gourmet American dinners," Kaga agreed while glaring at her adopted sister.

"Admiral, they're bullying me…" the red carrier whined.

Just then, a handful of aircraft took off from the US carrier's flight deck, causing the ship girls to rush over to the railings to get a better look.

"Ah, what nice planes," Shoukaku remarked, looking up.

Drake shielded his eyes from the sun as he too glanced upwards. "Looks like they're flying CAP or something."

"Wow, they look so different from ours… Hey look, there's a couple more taking off!" Zuikaku cried as she dragged Shoukaku over to the edge of the ship.

Kaga seemed interested in the planes as well, and she and Akagi went over with the rest of the fleet, leaving Drake alone with his own thoughts once again. However, to his surprise, Amatsukaze broke off from the group and walked over to him.

"Admiral, are you busy right now?" she asked somewhat nervously, which was a bit uncharacteristic for her.

"Not really. Why?"

"Oh, uh… I just wanted to ask you something."

"... Yes?"

"Er, um… What do you think of my performance so far? During the sorties and practice, I mean," she asked turning to face the sea.

"Uh, it's good, I guess," Drake replied, not really sure of what to say or why she was suddenly asking him that. "You've only been on one sortie, so I can't really make any significant comments, but from that mission and what I've seen during training, I don't have any complaints, at the very least."

"I see. So I'm mediocre, huh?" she surmised, her gaze falling.

"N-no, that's not what I meant," Drake quickly corrected. "You've done well so far, and your speed is especially impressive. I just meant that I don't have a lot of data to work with, you know?"

"Oh, okay," she said, perking up a bit. "Sorry, I know it was kind of a weird question, but… Never mind."

"Are you concerned about your skills or something?" the rear admiral asked, still curious as to why Amatsukaze wanted to know about her performance.

"Um, no, it's just that…" she stared out at the ocean for a couple seconds, then continued. "I assume you don't know this, but I was originally built as a prototype for the destroyer Shimakaze. I guess you could say that Shimakaze is supposed to be an improved version of me, or something. So that's why… I just don't like feeling inferior like that. It's not Shimakaze's fault, and I'm sure she doesn't see me that way, but…"

"Who is this 'Shimakaze'? Is she one of your sisters?"

"No, she's from a different class, but I'm closer with her than with some of my actual sisters, honestly," Amatsukaze answered. "Right now, she's at the Sasebo Base."

Drake was beginning to understand now. Sasebo was the 'primary' base for the IJN, so usually the most effective ship girls were sent there, though that didn't necessarily mean that every girl at Sasebo was automatically better than the ones at Tokyo Bay. Even so, the combination of their respective base placements and the fact that Amatsukaze was only a prototype probably left her feeling inferior to her sister, and that was why she was asking about her sortie performance.

"Well, if you really want to prove that you aren't inferior, then you're obviously going to have to stop assuming you're inferior from the very start," he told her. "This is isn't World War II anymore, and you have the chance to prove yourself again. But if you go into battle thinking that you're just a lesser version of somebody else, you're never going to reach your full potential."

Drake felt sort of cheesy after saying that, but he really didn't know how else to explain it.

"Yeah, you're probably right," she admitted. "I guess the only one who can really prove that I'm more than a prototype is myself, huh?"

"In the end, yes. But in case you need any help, I'll be here."

Amatsukaze nodded. "Thank you, Admiral."

The rest of the short trip passed in relative silence for Drake until the group arrived beside the carrier, USS _Glorious Tears of Liberty_. As one of the new _Liberty_ -class vessels, it contained a storage and deploying area just like the super jet cruisers did, so that is where the civilian craft carrying the ship girls docked. The storage area opened up, allowing Drake and his fleet to enter the interior of the carrier.

When they disembarked, they found a man waiting for them. He was clad in attire similar to Drake's, though a notable difference was the large, white stars on his shoulders which dwarfed Drake's own in both size and splendor. He also wore an ascot colored in the design of the American flag, and a very short, cape-like fabric also with an American flag design hung over his right shoulder. He was young, probably only a handful of years older than Drake, and had black hair and a lazy smile on his face.

Drake saluted. "Sir."

"Rear Admiral Drake, glad you could make it," he started, returning the salute. "I see you brought a lot of beautiful girls with you too!"

"Uh, yes, sir."

The man smiled, clearly enjoying Drake's discomfort. "Anyway, I assume you already know this, but I am Fleet Admiral Wei. Sorry to call you here on such short notice, but as you also already know, an Abyssal force has been amassing its strength in this area over the past couple of days, and it looks like they're ready to attack at any moment. Therefore, it's best that we get straight to planning our strategy. Is that all right with you?"

"Yes, sir."

In truth, Drake was still tired at having been woken up so early, and he hadn't eaten anything in a while either, but he wasn't about to voice those complaints in front of a fleet admiral.

Wei nodded, then led Drake and his fleet up into the carrier's interior. They continued through the ship until they reached the bridge, which housed a large conference room. The set of windows at the end of the room looked out onto the ship's deck and gave them a view of the blue Pacific beyond it.

 _It's nice in here, I guess,_ Drake tried to convince himself, looking around the relatively luxurious and spacious interior of the bridge. After he saw the bridge blow up on the _Freedom's Sacrifice_ back at Tangier, Drake preferred to command from the situation rooms rather than the bridge, which was a prime target for Abyssal bombers. He probably couldn't get away with that this time, considering the fact that all the officers seemed to be gathered on the bridge. At least the bridge had more amenities and comforts than the situation rooms, since the latter were typically only used for briefings or command centers for lower-ranked officers.

"Oh, yeah," Fleet Admiral Wei suddenly remembered, pointing towards a table in the back, "there's food and drinks over there in case you're hungry. You girls can help yourselves if you want."

Before the fleet admiral was even finished speaking, Akagi had already rushed off towards the food, causing Wei to grin.

"Wow. Lively, aren't they?"

Drake simply shook his head, sighing at the carrier's lack of discipline.

"There's a lot of them. Do the Japanese really have this many ship girls?" a new voice spoke, causing Drake to turn around. He quickly saluted once he saw who it was.

A woman, probably only slightly older than Wei, smirked and returned his salute. She had black hair and bright blue eyes, but her otherwise pleasant face was marred by a long, jagged scar that ran from her left eyebrow to her chin.

"Rear Admiral Drake. It's been a while, hasn't it?"

"Yes, ma'am."

Admiral Belle had been his instructor after he graduated from NROTC and entered into the two month-long officer training program that followed afterwards. She had been transferred there as an instructor because she had been recovering from that facial wound at the time, so Drake mostly remembered her with a large bandage across her face. Still, even with it removed and the scar on full display, Admiral Belle and her contrasting dark hair and sea blue eyes were unmistakable.

"Oh? You two know each other?" Wei asked.

"I am a former instructor of his," Belle answered in her usual cool tone.

"Ah, I see. How unlucky for you, Drake," Wei joked as he smiled at the rear admiral, though he quickly wiped that look off his face after receiving a glare from Admiral Belle.

"Either way, I am glad to see one of my students doing so well," Belle continued. "Though I heard your first major engagement was at Tangier, wasn't it? Quite a start to your career."

"Uh, yes, ma'am," Drake replied, not sure of how to respond to that.

Belle smiled darkly at him. "Well, I look forward to working with you as a colleague now. Do not disappoint me."

With that, Admiral Belle left the bridge, presumably to finish checking on preparations elsewhere. Fleet Admiral Wei sighed in relief as she exited.

"She scares me…"

"She does have that effect," Drake agreed.

"Anyway, it looks like the Abyssals actually haven't changed their positions since last night, so we can put off the mission details for a bit longer," Wei then said. "Please take a few moments to rest, Drake. We'll reconvene in about half an hour."

Drake saluted, then went over to where his fleet was. Most of them were busy stuffing themselves since they hadn't eaten in a while either, and the handful of USLN sailors present on the bridge were staring at them with a mixture of curiosity and wonder. Mentally and physically fatigued by the sequence of events since he left Japan and the upcoming battle, Drake elected to sit in an isolated corner of the bridge after grabbing a sandwich and water bottle from the tables. He hoped to finish his meal in relative peace, but that notion was quickly shattered when two more people entered the bridge.

"Wow! It's like a party in here!" Iowa shouted as she spotted the various other ship girls now present on the carrier. Another tall girl with chestnut brown hair and kind eyes stood next to Iowa, and though Drake had never seen her before, he assumed she was Saratoga, the only other ship girl currently part of the USLN.

"Hm? Who're you?" Amatsukaze asked.

 _Oh, right, I guess I forgot to tell them about Iowa and Saratoga,_ Drake realized. _Whatever._

"Iowa, nameship of the _Iowa_ -class battleships! Nice to meet you!" Iowa proudly introduced. "You guys must be the Japs! Welcome to America!"

"Mphhello!" Suzuya cheerily returned between mouthfuls, but the rest of the IJN ship girls seemed a bit reluctant, which was understandable.

"Busy stuffing yourselves, I see!" Iowa grinned. "Is your admiral around?"

"Oh, he's over there," Sendai pointed.

 _Thanks a lot, Sendai,_ Drake thought sarcastically as he waved to Iowa and Saratoga.

"Hey, Captain Drake! Long time no see!" Iowa greeted.

"Hello, Iowa," he replied, unsure of why she was still calling him 'captain' despite being present the moment he was promoted. He then turned to her companion. "You must be Saratoga, right?"

"Yes, sir," Saratoga saluted. " _Lexington_ -class aircraft carrier, Saratoga, reporting for duty. It is a pleasure to meet you."

"I'm Rear Admiral Richard Drake. Nice to meet you," he said with a nod. He glanced back at Iowa. "I see you've got a, uh, new uniform, Iowa."

"Huh? Oh, this?" she asked, pulling at her revealing and boisterous red-white-and-blue uniform. The last time Drake had seen her, she simply wore a white officer's suit. "I'm usually not allowed to wear this because it goes against 'USLN standards' or something dumb like that. It's the only thing I'm comfortable fighting in, though, so I'm allowed to wear it right now."

 _Well, I could definitely see how that uniform could be distracting…_ "So, this is probably going to be the first major battle for you two, right?"

"Yeah! You guys in Japan have been hogging all the action, but it's America's turn now!" Iowa declared loudly, drawing some looks.

"... With some help from Japan." Drake pointed out, looking at his fleet.

"Er, yeah, I guess."

"You two don't feel weird fighting with them?" Drake asked curiously. "You all used to be enemies, right?"

"Well, that was in the past," Iowa said dismissively. "We have a new enemy now, so we should all come together to defeat them."

"Hmm? That's surprisingly mature of you, Iowa," Saratoga noted.

"Wait, you say that like I'm not normally mature! Besides, if Captain Drake can fight alongside them, then we should too, right?"

Drake nodded. "I wasn't even born when World War II took place, but your sentiment is correct, I guess. I doubt we could defeat an Abyssal fleet this size with only American forces."

"By the way, Admiral Drake," Saratoga spoke up, "who is that blonde girl with you? She doesn't look Japanese…"

The rear admiral glanced back over at his fleet, then realized she was talking about Bismarck.

"Oh, you mean Bismarck? She's a battleship from Germany, so I doubt you two know her."

"We're even fighting alongside the Nazis, huh?" Iowa said, eyeing the other battleship cautiously. "I wonder what the soldiers back in the War would say if they saw us now…"

Bismarck noticed the trio of Americans staring at her, and she blinked in surprise before shooting them a glare.

 _Can't we all just get along?_ Drake lamented as he mentally sighed at the German's attitude.

"All right, everybody!" Fleet Admiral Wei called out. "I think it's about time we started preparations for the battle… Well, I really only need Admiral Drake, but anybody who wants to offer suggestions or just observe the planning progress is welcome."

Drake finished off the last of his sandwich before heading over to the front section of the bridge where a large map was spread out onto a table. His fleet, including Iowa and Saratoga, followed him, presumably curious about the operation. Fleet Admiral Wei was busy fiddling with the screens beside the table, pausing once they flickered to life and revealed the faces of two other people.

One of them was a cheery young woman with blonde, shoulder-length hair and bright green eyes, and the other was a gruff-looking man with bristly black hair and an angry expression. By the stars on their shoulders, Drake guessed the girl was Rear Admiral Sterrett while the man was Vice Admiral Jockey.

"Shit, is this thing on? Can you guys hear me?" Wei asked, tapping at the screens.

"Loud and clear, sir!" Sterrett quickly replied, and Jockey grunted in assent.

"Ah, good. Now we're just waiting for -"

Before he could finish his sentence, Admiral Belle returned to the bridge.

"Perfect timing!" Wei nodded. "Anyway, now that everyone is assembled, we'll start to fill out the more concrete details of our battle plan. Uh, so firstly, as you all know, there's a large Abyssal fleet gathering out just a little farther from here. As of now, we estimate that they probably have around ten battleships, five aircraft carriers, ten heavy cruisers, and a lot of escorting destroyers and light cruisers… I think."

 _Damn,_ Drake thought. His fleet had never fought anything that big before.

"As for our own sides capabilities, we have our carriers, _Glorious Tears of Liberty_ and _Liberty's Last Light_ , and then some destroyers. However, we also have our secret weapon, which is Rear Admiral Drake's Kancolle Fleet!"

Drake paused uncertainly as everybody's eyes shifted towards him.

"Ooooh! Those are all ship girls!?" Sterrett asked excitedly as she took note of Drake's fleet.

"Yep! Just like Iowa and Saratoga," Wei confirmed happily, as if he didn't care about the enormous gap in numbers that they were facing even with the addition of the ship girls.

Admiral Belle did seem to realize this, however. "Sir. We are still quite obviously outnumbered."

"Right, right," Wei sighed. "Okay… So based on radar and UAV information, this is what their formation looks like…"

Fleet Admiral Wei picked up a marker from the table and drew a series of X's on the map. The Abyssal fleet appeared to be in a fanned-out formation, sort of looking like a wifi signal symbol. The outer ray was composed of the destroyer and light cruisers, the middle contained the heavy cruisers and battleships, and the enemy carriers sailed towards the back.

"So, that's it," Wei said once he finished drawing the formation. "Basically, what we need to do is deal enough damage to the enemy fleet in order to force a retreat. We don't need to sink every single one of them or anything, but we definitely don't want to be steamrolled either. Worst case scenario, they kill all of us and burn Los Angeles to the ground… But I'm sure that won't happen!"

Admiral Belle looked unconvinced. "Then I assume you have some sort of plan, sir? Because God knows you haven't shared one with me."

Wei rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Well… I wanted to make sure Admiral Drake was here first, and then I was going to start working on a tactical plan…"

"... So you're going to be coming up with one on the spot, right here and now."

"Basically, yes!" Wei beamed. "Glad you understand."

Admiral Belle looked ready to strangle the fleet admiral, causing Drake to flinch. He knew that look all too well, and even though he had never been directly on the receiving end of one of Admiral Belle's punishments, he had seen what she could do when she was angry.

"Hey, hey, don't look at me like that," Wei pleaded, smiling nervously. "I'll come up with something… But I'll also take suggestions if anybody has any right now."

The other four admirals were silent for a bit before Vice Admiral Jockey spoke up.

"We are supposed to use those ship girls as the main force, correct? I have no idea what the true extent of their capabilities is. Rear Admiral Drake presumably has a strategy, then…?"

"Uh… No, sir. I didn't even know the true size or formation of the enemy fleet until now," Drake answered.

"Really?" Admiral Belle spat with a glare, turning to Wei. "You couldn't have sent him the enemy formation before calling him here?"

"Whoops, must have slipped my mind, haha," Wei said with another shaky smile.

Admiral Belle sighed angrily. "The fate of one of America's most populous cities is on the line, and something like that just 'slipped your mind'?"

"Well, uh," Wei stammered, clearly uncomfortable. "Say, Admiral Drake, why don't you take a stab at a strategy now? Anything is fine, there's no wrong answers. We're just brainstorming right now."

"Uh… Let me think."

Drake stared the the enemy formation, trying to figure out how best to deploy his forces in order to take advantage of it. One of the most glaring flaws that he saw with the Abyssal formation was the fact that it was sort of separated. Since the formation had gaps in between each ray, that could be exploited by sending in forces in between those gaps, disrupting the flow and communication between the carrier, heavy, and light Abyssal groups.

"We could start by sending in a frontal attack composed of all our USLN destroyers and then our battleship and heavy cruiser ship girls," Drake began. "We would also send over an air attack using the actual ship carriers. However, this will only be a distracting force. While that's happening, we should send the light cruiser and destroyer ship girls towards the back of the enemy formation and eliminate the enemy carriers with their torpedoes and guns. The Abyssal carriers will presumably be preoccupied in fighting off the airstrike and the heavy frontal attack, so they won't have the planes to attack the destroyers and light cruisers with. That takes care of the first and third Abyssal rays, which only leaves the middle group, which is composed of heavy Abyssal ships. To deal with them, I'll send out a carrier airstrike from the ship girl fleet. Their planes will take a longer flanking route and attack only the middle division from both sides. It may take a bit of time for the planes to get there, but by then it won't matter because the Abyssals should be too disoriented to mount a coordinated anti-air attack."

The other admirals and the ship girls took a moment to process the plan before Fleet Admiral Wei nodded.

"As expected of you, Rear Admiral Drake. A great strategy. We are clearly outnumbered, so your use of distractions and a multiple-front attack is an effective approach, rather than a head-on collision with enemy forces. However…"

The fleet admiral smiled again, though this time, his expression seemed much more serious.

"You are forgetting quite a few things. Firstly, Abyssal airpower has been proven to be superior to modern planes time and time again. Your initial airstrike will be easily destroyed, and unlike the planes of your ship girls, our carrier planes actually have people in them. Your strategy will kill off almost all of them."

Before Drake could even start thinking of a rebuttal, Wei continued on.

"And after they defeat our planes, they'll come for the USLN carriers themselves and kill us admirals. That would be an automatic loss. Your next flaw is that your strategy relies too much on delay. Your destroyers and light cruisers will need time to get to the back of the fleet, and what if by the time they get there, the Abyssal fleet has already rallied and eliminated your heavy attackers? And your ship girl carrier airstrike will also take a significant amount of time to go into effect, and until it does, you're allowing the enemy carriers and battleships free reign of the field because your initial airstrike won't be able to stand up to Abyssal airpower."

Fleet Admiral Wei paused briefly, then frowned. "Your strategy is impressive, especially since you just came up with it. But there is no way I'd ever put that kind of plan into action."

The bridge was silent, and Drake felt burning embarrassment despite the fact that the fleet admiral did praise his thinking.

 _The fuck was I supposed to say? It's not like you had a better strategy._

"So!" Wei suddenly shouted, crossing his arms and grinning confidently. "Here's what we'll do instead. Since the only airstrike that can go toe-to-toe with the Abyssals is a ship girl's, we'll send out those carriers first, along with the frontal force Admiral Drake suggested. That way, we can actually buy some time. Next, we'll charge in with our two ship carriers, alongside the left and right flanks of the enemy."

That statement brought incredulous looks from everyone in the room, but Wei quickly explained.

"Of course, we'll bring the rest of the ship girls with us. We'll keep our distance from the front ray filled with destroyers and light cruisers since there are too many of them, but once we get to the middle ray, we'll close in and send the ship girls into the fray on both flanks. While they're doing that, our USLN carriers will launch their airstrikes. Since the Abyssals will be preoccupied, our human pilots will have less of a chance of being shot down, and they can deliver their payloads. The airstrikes will also land on the opposite carrier that they launched from, allowing us to save time because they won't have to circle back around and land on their home carrier. As soon as that's done, we'll get out of there. Hopefully by then, the front and middle rays will have been weakened. The ship girls will then move towards the back and finish the enemy carriers, whose planes should be depleted after their initial skirmish with the ship girl airstrike. Our USLN destroyers will also enter the field at this moment in order to pick off the remaining Abyssal forces, since sending them against a numerous or healthy Abyssal fleet is suicide."

 _I see,_ Drake realized. _My plan relied on the ship airpower to be able to launch the initial strike and for the ship girl carriers to strike the decisive blow, but Fleet Admiral Wei's strategy essentially reverses that. That makes sense because any bomber can sink an Abyssal, but only ship girl aircraft can skirmish with Abyssal aircraft in an air battle._

"That's basically what I was thinking for now," Wei then finished. "Any questions or concerns? I'll take any suggestions."

Drake eyed Wei cautiously. _He was able to come up with a battle plan far better than mine so quickly… Is this the difference between me and a fleet admiral?_

The rear admiral clenched his fists. He had always prided himself on his tactical ability and intelligence, but it was clear that he was far outclassed here.

"Uh, well, if nobody has any questions, then I guess we can start putting things into place," Wei continued on. "Jockey and Sterrett, you two can form up your ships and prepare for the signal from this flagship when the time comes. Drake, please get the ship girls ready. If the Abyssals don't attack soon, I think we should strike the first blow."

With that, the strategy meeting concluded, and everyone went back to their posts. Fleet Admiral Wei now busied himself with setting up preparations for the attack, and though he kept his standard aloof and lazy demeanor, it was obvious that he knew what he was doing. Becoming a fleet admiral at the age of thirty was no easy feat, and Wei proved that he deserved his title.

Though Drake was still a bit annoyed at himself and at how he had missed such obvious flaws in his own strategy, he resolved to learn from this. Fleet Admiral Wei was much better than he was right now, but one day, he hoped to reach that level as well.

 _And it starts with this sortie. Even though Fleet Admiral Wei did most of the planning, that doesn't mean that I can slack off during the actual battle… Tangier, the Airfield Princess… I've been defeated before… But not this time._

 _This time, I'm going to win._

* * *

"We should be reaching the destination soon, right?" Asashio asked, glancing outside the window of the holding area inside the recently-repaired _Guadalcanal_.

"Um, I think so," Shigure replied. "Right, Yuudachi?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah, poi! Get ready for action!" the blonde destroyer cheered, causing the fifteen other ship girls in the holding area to stare at her.

"Such enthusiasm! I like it, desu!" Kongou said, shooting Yuudachi a thumbs up.

"Yeah! Let's get hyped!" Hiei echoed, pumping her fist.

Shigure smiled nervously, then turned to her other sister, Kawakaze. "Your fleet sure is lively…"

The red-haired destroyer grinned. "Yep, it's always like this. They may be loud, but at least things are always exciting!"

"They don't seem to be taking this sortie too seriously…" Asashio worried.

"Don't worry. They act like a bunch of idiots, but they can handle themselves in a fight," the battleship Ise said as she approached.

Junyou slung an arm around Ise's shoulder. "Yeah, don't worry 'bout a thing. Yer safe with us!"

"Um, okay," Shigure said, though she found it hard to trust the clearly-drunk light carrier's words.

"Jeez, at least sober up if you're going to say something like that," Ise chided. "You're a bad influence on these destroyers."

"Hey!" a loud voice then called out, causing everyone to turn and look at the center of the room where a girl with greyish-blue hair and an eyepatch stood. "I'm issuing a challenge! Whoever gets the most kills has to buy the other lunch for a week when we get back! Anyone here man enough to take me on!?"

"Hell yeah, desu! Challenge accepted!" Kongou immediately responded.

Hiei beamed at her older sister. "As expected of you, Kongou! No one can beat you!"

"Heh, don't speak too soon," Kiso playfully taunted. "I'm gonna take you down, Brit!"

Asashio sighed as she watched the scene unfold. "And of course, Kiso isn't making things better. Why did we choose her to join our fleet again?"

"I chose her at random," Shiranui said from nearby, overhearing their conversation. "The Commander wasn't being very helpful, so I just picked her and Yura. If you have a problem with that, take it up with him."

"Everyone! Should I sing a pre-battle ballad for you all?" Naka shouted as she twirled among the energetic fleet.

"God, why is it always so loud in here?" a male voice asked gruffly as Rear Admiral Genji opened the door to the holding area. "If you all are done fooling around, we're going to be arriving at the drop point in five minutes. As I told you earlier, we're just here to scout the area, so don't do anything dumb. Get prepared to sortie."

"What?! But I want to fight!" Kongou complained.

Genji glared at his flagship. "I don't give a shit about what you want. And don't act surprised, you knew this was what the mission was from the outset."

Kongou merely pouted in annoyance.

Genji frowned. "But having said that… Do be prepared to fight in case of any resistance. It's unlikely, considering the fact that the Abyssals are already engaged in what appears to be a major operation off the coast of California, but don't let your guard down. As discussed, the Third and Fourth Fleets will take point while Admiral Drake's reserves hang back… That is all."

The IJN rear admiral then left the holding area, causing the ship girls to resume their chatter almost immediately.

"Whaa…? So we don' get ta fight after all?" Junyou whined.

"Like you even could in that state, you fucking drunkard," Ise said, lightly shoving the pink-haired girl off of her.

"Nuh-uh! I've fought drunk plenny a times!"

"Yeah, don't let the Admiral hear you say that."

Kawakaze giggled at their banter, then turned to Shigure. "Even if we don't get to fight, I still think it's great that we finally get to go on a sortie together."

Shigure nodded while glancing over to where Yuudachi and Murasame were conversing about something or another. "Yeah… It's nice to feel useful again."

"Either way, we should do our best to make sure that the Commander is proud of us," Asashio said, sharing Shigure's sentiments. "I hated sitting by while everyone else got to sortie… I don't want that to happen again!"

Shiranui regarded them coolly. "Just how do you plan on setting yourself apart if we're just going to be in reserves?"

Asashio deflated. "I…"

"Well, it doesn't matter, I suppose," the Kagerou-class destroyer said as she stood up and stretched. "We'll just have to do as we're told, like always. At least we're not stuck back at base this time."

Murasame and Yuudachi then approached the group of destroyers.

"Hey, we never decided on the flagship position for our fleet, did we?" Murasame asked.

"Shouldn't the Admiral make that decision?" Shigure inputted.

"Well, he's obviously not here, so we'll have to do it ourselves," the brown-haired destroyer replied.

Shiranui raised an eyebrow. "Why do we even need a flagship? We're just going to be in the back of the combined fleet, and it's unlikely we'll even see any action."

"Someone has to make decisions out there on the water, right?" Murasame countered. "What if something doesn't go as planned? We can't be arguing among ourselves in a situation like that."

Shiranui sighed. "Fine, I don't care. Who were you going to suggest, then? I hope you're not vain enough to say yourself."

Murasame blushed. "N-no!"

"Maybe one of the light cruisers?" Asashio offered.

Murasame looked around. "Where even are they…?"

Kiso was currently engaged in an armwrestling match with Hiei, and the light cruiser appeared to be holding her own despite the battleship's superior strength. The tide slowly but surely turned, however, causing Kiso to curse colorfully when she eventually lost.

"Okay, definitely not her," Murasame decided. "And Yura is…"

The light cruiser Yura was currently in the company of Iku and Atago, the former of whom was draping herself in Yura's long ponytail and laughing merrily while the latter playfully fondled the light cruiser's breasts, causing Yura to blush and try and squirm her way out of their grasp.

"Seems like she's busy… I guess it'll have to be one of us after all."

"I'll do it, poi!" Yuudachi readily volunteered.

"You're not even part of our fleet," Shiranui deadpanned. "What about Asashio? She has been the flagship before during training."

"T-that was just training!" Asashio nervously replied. "Why don't you do it, Shiranui? The Commander chose you first, after all."

Murasame didn't seem to like that suggestion. "No way! Shiranui said we didn't even need a flagship for this sortie, so why should she get to be the flagship?"

Yuudachi patted Shigure on the head. "Hey, what about Shigure, poi?"

"M-me?"

"Oh, yeah!" Murasame agreed. "You're pretty mature, Shigure. I think you'd make a good flagship!"

"But I don't…"

Shiranui sighed. "Fine, Shigure it is. Better it be her than have the rest of us constantly arguing over the position."

Asashio gave Shigure a nod. "Do your best."

"Um, okay, I guess," Shigure shakily responded, having had her decision already made for her.

"Yeah! You'll do great, poi!" Yuudachi reassured Shigure, seeing her sister's apprehensiveness. "You guys are just in reserve anyway, and you'll have our two fleets to help if anything goes wrong. So no pressure, all right?"

Shigure nodded and smiled. _But this is my first real sortie since the War ended… I hope it doesn't turn out like before…_

A chill went up Shigure's spine, but she forced herself to ignore it. Memories of World War II still haunted her, but she wouldn't let that interfere with her life anymore. Or at least, that's what she told herself.


	13. Coming to America IV

_**A/N** : Thanks again to everyone who has reviewed/favorited/followed so far... But the real reason I'm here is just to say that Murasame Kai Ni is a gift sent from the gods._

* * *

Drake stood in the holding area of the USS _Glorious Tears of Liberty_ , watching as his fleet of ship girls prepared for departure. Right now, only the battleships, Suzuya, and the carriers were getting their equipment on, as the rest of the fleet would launch later into the battle. Iowa and Saratoga also joined them, as they would be under Drake's command for this sortie, something he was grateful for since he was lacking in heavy surface firepower and an extra carrier never hurt.

A few minutes ago, the Abyssal fleet had finally surfaced in their expected formation, and Fleet Admiral Wei had decided to launch the attack plan instead of waiting for the Abyssals to fully prepare themselves. As discussed, the ship girl carriers would launch their planes first, and the Heavy Surface Attack Force, composed of the battleships and Suzuya, would then begin shelling the Abyssal fleet from a long distance before finally closing in once the USLN carriers started sailing towards the Abyssals.

That part of the plan still made him nervous. Though it was clear that Fleet Admiral Wei knew what he was doing, another close encounter with the Abyssals didn't exactly sound pleasant to Drake, who was still smarting from the Airfield Princess sortie and the wounds at Tangier that just refused to heal.

"Admiral, will you be all right?"

Drake was snapped out of his thoughts by Kaga's voice.

"Yeah, don't worry about me. Just focus on the battle."

Though Kaga still wore her same blank expression, Drake could tell that she was unconvinced.

"If you say so, sir. But if anything comes up, please call on me. I will sail back to your side immediately."

"Thank you. But I'll be fine."

Drake sighed to himself as Kaga went back to the rest of the fleet. _I can't believe this. I'm supposed to be the Admiral, the leader of this fleet, and here I am making my own soldiers worry about me. Why do I have to be so weak…?_

The rear admiral forced his inner lamentations down as he approached the fleet once they finished gearing up.

"All right, everyone. It's about time to set sail now, so remember the plan. I'll be in touch the whole time in case anything changes, so just let me know if there are any issues."

"Yes, sir!" Iowa yelled as she saluted cheerily, obviously pumped up at the chance to fight again.

"One more thing," Drake added, "we haven't been able to get any aircraft or ships close enough to confirm the exact nature of the Abyssal fleet, aside from their silhouettes that we can see from a long distance away. That means that though we know what class of Abyssals we'll be up against, we don't know exactly which types within that class we're facing. Basically, what we want to know about is if there are any Princesses present in their fleet."

Kaga and Akagi, having fought an Abyssal Princess before, tensed up at that.

"So you mean we might be facing another Princess on top of this already large Abyssal fleet?" Akagi asked, her expression darkening.

"We don't know for sure… But possibly, yes. Given that this Abyssal fleet is almost as big as the one at Tangier, which was their last major offensive, we think that just as there was a Princess back then, there might be one now. If the Abyssals are attacking a major American city like Los Angeles, then it would make sense for them to send at least one Princess to lead the operation."

"And was this taken into account during the planning for this sortie?" Kaga asked.

Drake nodded. "Fleet Admiral Wei didn't mention the possibility of a Princess during the meeting, but I am certain that he had that in the back of his mind. Either he thinks that this strategy will still work even in the presence of a Princess, or he has a backup plan in case we run into one."

"Er, sorry, but what's a Princess?" Iowa asked, grinning sheepishly.

Drake gave her an incredulous look. "Seriously? Did nobody tell you?"

"They did, but it must have slipped her mind," Saratoga supplied, frowning at her sister-in-arms. "Princesses are a class of Abyssals that are much stronger than the average one, Iowa. Though one ship girl is usually strong enough to take one multiple weaker Abyssals at once, a Princess is a different matter. It would take at least three or four of us just to stand a chance against one of them."

Iowa's starry eyes grew serious. "I see… It was that Abyssal with the black dress and red eyes back at Tangier, right, Captain?"

Drake nodded as the Battleship Princess' unpleasant stare resurfaced in his memory.

"Then it looks like we'll need to be on guard," Iowa stated. "I was only in her presence for a few minutes and it was years ago, but I'll never forget that feeling. There was just a different aura around her."

"Ehehe, I'm not feeling so good about this sortie anymore," Suzuya said with a nervous grin.

"Admiral, you have to have a plan for this, right?!" Amatsukaze demanded.

The rest of the ship girls then began voicing their own opinions, none of them positive. Drake frowned.

"Shut up, all of you," he commanded, causing them to fall silent. "I told you that the Fleet Admiral is aware of this, and you know I wouldn't send you on an unwinnable sortie. For now, just go out there and act according to plan. The carrier scouts will check out the Abyssal fleet for any anomalies, and we'll change things from there if we need to. Okay?"

The fleet didn't say anything more, causing Drake to rub his eyes in frustration. _So much for raising their morale…_

Either way, the door to the holding area opened, and the carriers and heavy surface forces were let loose.

 _Good luck,_ Drake thought. _You might need it._

* * *

"Admiral, permission to launch our airstrike?" Kaga radioed after a few minutes of sailing towards the Abyssal position.

" _Permission granted. Send everything you have at them. Once you do that, hold your position. The Heavy Attack Force will continue on towards the enemy… And let me know if you see any standouts in the enemy fleet."_

"Yes, sir." Kaga then took out one of her arrows, notched her bow with it, and pointed it towards the sky. "All carriers, launch your airstrikes."

The four other carriers complied, the three IJN ships also preparing their bows while Saratoga aimed her gun-like launcher at the sky. After a few minutes of shooting, the air was filled with a huge squadron of Japanese and American torpedo bombers, dive bombers, and fighter planes. Kaga took a few more minutes to organize the massive airstrike into a cohesive formation before sending it off towards the enemy. The Admiral seemed fond of sending his entire airstrike at once, a strategy that had a high risk but also potentially high rewards. Though such a tactic had worked thus far, the bitter defeat at Midway where the IJN had used this sort of airstrike never left Kaga's mind. Still, she had trust in her admiral, and so she did not question his decision.

Closely monitoring the position of her planes, Kaga waited intently as the airforce got closer and closer towards the enemy. Soon enough, the Abyssal formation came into sight, and the enemy began opening fire with their anti-air weapons. Towards the back, Kaga could see some of the enemy carriers also launching their own airstrikes.

 _Hmm… Their airpower does not seem to be augmented by the presence of someone like the Airfield Princess,_ she observed. _If there is a Princess in that fleet, then it certainly isn't one with air capabilities._

As the massive air battle unfolded, Kaga kept surveying the enemy fleet with the planes that remained undamaged. Though she scanned over the battlefield multiple times, she couldn't find anything suggesting the presence of a Princess.

"Do any of you see any signs of a Princess?" Kaga asked the other four carriers.

Akagi shook her head. "I've been looking, but I don't see anything."

"Yeah, I'm not seeing anything weird either," Zuikaku said.

"No Princess sighted by my planes," Shoukaku added, and Saratoga shook her head as well.

"... That is strange," Kaga said, narrowing her eyes at the fleet in the distance. "Perhaps it may be a submarine type of Princess? Or maybe she is still submerged…?"

" _Er, sorry to interrupt, but have you seen the enemy Princess yet?"_ Haruna sounded through the radio, speaking through the fleet-wide communications channel.

"Nothing on the surface, no," Kaga replied. "Admiral, could she be underwater?"

" _Sonar's coming up empty. Fleet Admiral Wei confirmed that the entire Abyssal fleet surfaced, which is why we decided to attack now."_

"Then… There is no Princess at this battle?"

" _I guess not, no,"_ Drake responded. " _It's kind of unexpected, but I'm not going to complain."_

Though she yearned for the opportunity to get her revenge on the Airfield Princess, Kaga felt a surge of relief at the Admiral's words. Whether she liked it or not, she had taken quite a beating during that sortie, so facing one or multiple Princesses now would most likely be very difficult.

" _Continue as planned, in that case,"_ Drake concluded. " _Is the Heavy Attack Force in position yet?"_

" _A few more minutes, sir,"_ Haruna answered.

While the carriers continued to monitor the air battle from their position far away from the Abyssal fleet, the battleships and Suzuya sailed onwards until the enemy came into sight. A series of dogfights mixed in with flak bursts filled the sky above the Abyssals, and it was clear that the carrier airstrike was doing its job.

"That's a big fleet…" Suzuya observed as the sleek, black Abyssal figures appeared in the distance.

"Luckily most of them are only destroyers and light cruisers," Haruna said. "It should be all right."

Bismarck glanced out at the enemy fleet with a bored expression. "Well then, should we begin firing?"

"Hey, Jerry, want to have a contest on who can hit the most Abyssals?" Iowa asked with a grin as she nudged Bismarck.

The German shot a cold glare at her. "My name is Bismarck. I suggest you use it, filthy American."

"Oho! Lighten up! I know you people are only happy when you're massacring innocent Jews, but try and take it easy, okay?"

"Ah, so is that how it's going to be?" Bismarck growled, gritting her teeth and turning to face Iowa.

"Y-you two, stop it, please!" Haruna interrupted, trying to get the battleships back on track.

" _Haruna, are you in position?"_

Thankful for the Admiral's intervention, Haruna quickly responded. "Yes, sir. We can fire whenever you are ready."

" _Okay, then fire now. The Abyssals are engaged with the air battle right now, so they should be vulnerable."_

"Uh, Admiral, couldn't we get like a smokescreen or somethin'?" Suzuya asked, nervously eyeing the enemy fleet. "I mean… They outnumber us by _a lot,_ so if they decided to fire back on us…"

" _Won't be necessary. Like I said, they're busy fighting off the planes, and while some of them will undoubtedly fire back at you, the battleships and the heavy cruisers are towards the middle of the enemy fleet, so you'll have plenty of time to see their shells coming, and they won't have a good lock on your position, so you should be able to dodge them with ease. The enemy destroyers and light cruisers may have a better shot at hitting you, but even if that happens, none of you are going to be very hurt by getting hit by one of them. A smokescreen to obscure your position would probably only hurt you because it wouldn't let you see the enemy battleship shells coming."_

"'Kay, got it," Suzuya replied, seeing that her commander was probably right.

" _All right. Fire now."_

Haruna echoed Admiral Drake's order, and the Heavy Attack Force's guns boomed as they launched their shells in the direction of the enemy fleet. Since the Abyssals were so numerous, the ship girl shells had a high chance of hitting the enemy. The ship girls also aimed their shots towards the front of the enemy fleet, both because it would allow them to be more accurate and because just one hit from a battleship shell could sink or at least heavily maim an Abyssal destroyer or light cruiser.

The heavy ships reloaded and launched another volley before the Abyssals started firing back. Sure enough, they could hear and see the enemy battleship shells coming from far away, and therefore it was relatively easy to dodge them. A few of the destroyers and light cruisers also started firing back, but their shots were off-target and weak to boot. However, as the quartet launched their third set of shots, they noticed that a significant number of Abyssal planes were heading towards their position.

"What the…" Iowa muttered as she narrowed her eyes at the approaching aircraft.

"Huh? Weren't the carriers s'posed to take care of the planes?" Suzuya asked, frowning.

Haruna swallowed nervously as the sizeable airstrike approached their position. She then reached a hand up to her ear to contact Drake. "Admiral, there appear to be enemy planes approaching our position."

" _Really? I see… So the enemy must have held their bombers in reserve when the carriers launched their airstrike, meaning that they only sent fighters out to shoot down our carrier planes. They're now sending their own bombers out, and our carriers can't stop them because our fighters have already been shot up… You'll have to brace for air attack. Our actual fighter jets can't do shit to those small Abyssal planes, so you'll have to shoot them down using your anti-air guns. I'll also send the carriers up to add to the anti-air fire, and it doesn't really matter if they get hit now since their runways have fulfilled their purpose."_

Haruna turned to the three other heavy ships. "Looks like we will have to fend off this airstrike ourselves for now. Please prepare yourselves."

Iowa grinned. "Not really how I'd prefer to fight, but I guess I can try my hand at sharpshooting."

Bismarck said nothing and just prepared her Flakvierling for action. Her loss to Kaga still stung, and she wasn't about to be outdone by carriers once again.

Suzuya wasn't looking forward to the prospect of having to fight off a fleet of bombers. "This is goin' to hurt, isn't it…?"

A few moments later, the airstrike arrived above the four heavy ships, and bursts of flak began filling the air. Haruna's eyes shifted from the planes she was aiming at to the aircraft in the back that had dropped torpedoes into the water, forcing her to split her attention between the air and the sea. She also had to keep moving in order to avoid being hit, so it was very difficult for her to properly aim her anti-air weaponry. One of the bombs landed near her portside, drenching her in water. Though the shock wasn't painful, the slight sting of the salty spray reminded her of when her engine had been hit on her first sortie and she had been set on fire. The unpleasant memory caused her to pause briefly, but that short moment was all one of the enemy bombers needed to position itself directly above her. With wide eyes, Haruna watched as the plane released its bomb, but she then felt herself jerked to the side, and the bomb exploded in the seawater where she had just been standing. Turning to her right, she saw Bismarck grabbing onto her sleeve, evidently having pulled her out of harm's way.

"T-thank you," Haruna managed.

Bismarck merely nodded lightly in reply, then boosted off in a different direction to avoid giving the Abyssals a stationary target. The German continued to fire her anti-air guns, hitting the enemy planes with deadly accuracy. Ever since her defeat on her first day at the Tokyo Bay Base, she had trained her anti-air fire even harder than she did before, and as a result, she was able to take out many of the planes with her Flakvierling before they even had a chance to come near her. As she stopped briefly to take out a pair of particularly persistent Abyssal planes, Bismarck noticed Iowa sailing straight towards her at a relatively high speed. When the American ship showed no signs of stopping even as she got closer and closer, Bismarck narrowed her eyes in confusion.

"What do you think you -"

Her sentence was interrupted as Iowa leapt high into the air, the American battleship's strong legs catapulting both her body and her rigging. Before Bismarck could even utter another word, Iowa planted her feet on Bismarck's shoulders and pushed off, causing the German to stumble forward.

Bismarck turned around and prepared to let Iowa have it, but she was surprised to see the airborne American swing her fist into the side of an Abyssal dive bomber that had been behind Bismarck. The bomber flew through the air after being struck by Iowa, hitting another Abyssal plane and ending both their bombing runs in a fiery mid-air explosion. Iowa then landed back on the water, the waves splashing a bit from the impact.

Iowa turned her head slightly to grin widely at Bismarck as the explosion unfolded, and Bismarck merely frowned and turned back to the battle. Though she was annoyed that Iowa used her body as a springboard, Bismarck had to admit that the American had saved her from a potentially extremely painful hit from behind.

"Hey, the carriers are finally here!" Suzuya called out, and sure enough, the fleet of five carriers had arrived.

"Heya!" Iowa greeted as she waved. "You guys finally here? You're a little late! We're just about finished here!"

"Doesn't look like it to me…" Saratoga noted as she glanced worriedly at the sky, which was still swarming with a fair number of Abyssal aircraft.

"The Admiral has ordered you all to stay behind us," Kaga told the Heavy Attack Force. "We will handle this from here on."

* * *

"It's going pretty well down there," Fleet Admiral Wei said with approval as he looked at the large radar screen inside the bridge of the USS _Glorious Tears of Liberty_.

Drake nodded. "I thought it would be a lot harder than this. Things would have been different if the Abyssals had sent a Princess."

"Ah, we caught a break didn't we?" Wei chuckled, as he rubbed the back of his head.

"Strange that they didn't send one," Admiral Belle said. "Was this not a serious attempt to attack Los Angeles?"

"Well, it could be that they were still waiting for their Princess' arrival when we started the battle," Wei posited. "They've been marshalling their forces for a quite a while now and haven't attacked, and we basically had to make the first move. That might mean that they were waiting for the Princess to arrive before actually taking on our fleet. Or they could have been waiting for… Nah, never mind. Either way, it doesn't really matter. We've got the advantage now."

"Still, this is a pretty big force they've gathered, comparatively speaking," Drake said. "Why would they send a fleet like this out just to lose? Why waste so many of their soldiers? Do they have some sort of secret weapon they're hiding?"

"Perhaps they just didn't know that Rear Admiral Drake's fleet would be arriving to reinforce us," Admiral Belle suggested.

"I wonder about that," Wei replied, smiling mysteriously. "But to answer your question, Drake, I don't believe they have something up their sleeve for this battle. Abyssal soldiers aren't like our ship girls. As I'm sure you've noticed, an individual ship girl can usually take on multiple Abyssals all by herself, unless it's a higher-class Abyssal. As you can see, there are almost none of those at this battle, so even if the Abyssal fleet is completely sunk here, the Abyssals as a whole wouldn't suffer too much."

Drake frowned uneasily. "But if their entire fleet was destroyed, that would be terrible for Abyssal morale and momentum. It's been a while since they had a significant victory in this war."

Wei sighed softly. "That is true, but it's also possible that they wanted this fleet to lose here."

Admiral Belle raised an eyebrow. "Why would they want that?"

"That's what I don't get either… " Wei admitted as rubbed his chin.

"So it's entirely possible that Rear Admiral Drake or I am right, and that you're wrong," Belle deadpanned.

Wei shrugged. "It's _possible_ , sure, but… I think you're both wrong, and that the Abyssals had a legitimate reason for sending their fleet out like this. I mean… While we're fighting battle after battle just trying to survive, the Abyssals have been lurking in the depths, thinking strategically about this whole war. Right now, as much as I hate to admit it, they're probably many steps ahead of us."

Admiral Belle shook her head in frustration at Wei's answer. "Fine, believe that for all I care. As long as we win this battle without getting too bloodied up…"

Wei smiled. "Yeah, we should probably focus on the battle for now. It's about time for our own carriers to head out as well."

Drake felt a pang of nervousness at the fleet admiral's words. As usual, he was not looking forward to fighting the Abyssals at such close ranges again, despite what he may have said to Kaga before the sortie.

"Don't look so uptight, you two," Wei chided as he shot them another lazy smile. "I'm sure we'll be fine."

With that half-assed assurance, Wei then turned to communications and contacted Vice Admiral Jockey, letting him know that the two carriers would begin moving out. After a few minutes of back-and-forth communication between Wei, Jockey, and Sterrett, Drake felt the carrier pick up speed underneath him, and the task force was off. As planned, the two carriers split off and went in separate directions, coming up on both sides of the Abyssal fleet.

As the carrier got closer to the actual battlefield, Drake could see that the air battle had been concluded, and trails of smoke and fire emerged from within the Abyssal fleet.

"What is the status on the Abyssal dive bombers?" Drake radioed in to Haruna as he stepped away from the bridge.

" _All enemy planes have been eliminated. Our fleet has taken minor damage at most,"_ Haruna answered.

"Good. Fleet Admiral Wei's Carrier Task Force is moving in now, so prepare to sail into the Abyssal fleet when I give the order."

Drake then turned to glance out the window as the Abyssals grew nearer. So far, the operation was going very smoothly, which honestly surprised Drake. Part of their success was due to Wei's strategic ability, no doubt, but Drake also felt that the Abyssals had been woefully unprepared for a battle of this scale. They had the numbers, sure, but this wasn't like the first year of the Abyssal War where the Abyssals could just go in with a fleet of lesser ships and expect to completely destroy the humans. Did the Abyssals really underestimate the power of the ship girls this badly?

"Launch our airstrike now," Wei commanded as they pulled up beside the enemy fleet, his tone deadly calm.

That was also the cue to have the battleships charge in, so Drake gave the order.

"Heavy Attack Force, sail towards the enemy and crush them in a frontal attack. Carriers, sail behind them but don't engage the enemy. Watch for any stray enemy planes and destroy them if you can."

Drake then quickly headed back down to the holding area, where the ship girls and their equipment were. Now that the carrier was close enough, they could sortie the remaining ship girls into the middle of the Abyssal fleet and cut them up from inside while the battleships and Suzuya attacked from the front and the planes from above. All the ship girls were on this carrier, which meant that they would all be attacking from one side. Initially, Drake was expecting that they be split up between the two carriers so the ship girls could attack the Abyssals from both sides, but Fleet Admiral Wei explained that it was better to have them charge from one side because then it could cause an entire flank to collapse, making it easier for the ship girls to penetrate the Abyssal fleet.

"Sir," Yahagi, the appointed leader of the Light Attack Force, saluted as Drake entered. "Is it time?"

Drake nodded. "Prepare to sortie. Now that we know that the enemy carriers have basically exhausted all their planes, we're going to focus on eliminating the battleships and heavy cruisers. The planes will do most of the damage, but you all need to provide enough of a distraction so that the Abyssals can't shoot down our pilots. So basically, you don't have to sink them, but you do have to annoy them."

"W-we have to fight battleships…" Yamakaze moaned softly to herself, but the American admiral heard it anyway.

"You've trained for this exact scenario numerous times during fleet maneuvers," he pointed out. "It really shouldn't be that hard, especially considering that most of these enemies are just run-of-the-mill Abyssals. I'm sure you'll all do fine."

Sendai pumped her fist, clearly excited. "Yeah! I'm going to give them a night battle they'll never forget!"

"It's the middle of the day, though…" Fubuki corrected.

"Do you have some sort of disorder that forces you to mention night battles every two seconds?" Amatsukaze asked with a frown, still not amused by Sendai's antics.

"All right, you have permission to set sail," Drake cut in. "Get out there and let me know if anything comes up. Our carrier airstrike should be in the air by now, so don't leave them hanging."

"Yes, sir!" Yahagi saluted one more time before leading the five other light ships out of the carrier's holding area and into the water.

As the last of the ship girls began the sortie, Drake headed back up towards the bridge, wondering if he could get a better view of the battlefield from there. When he got there, he noticed both Wei and Belle staring out at the Abyssals on the starboard side of the ship. Planes began taking off from the carrier as well, and the noise of their engines added to the cacophony of the battle. Drake watched from the main bridge windows as the Super Hornets took off from the flight deck, accompanied by a few Seahawk helicopters.

Once the planes took off, Drake joined his superiors at the starboard window of the bridge, waiting to see if the Abyssals would turn their cannons on _Glorious Tears of Liberty_. The carrier had reduced its speed at this point, so it was entirely possible that the surviving Abyssals not currently engaged in battle with the Heavy Attack Force would try and sink the two carriers currently on either side of them. However, they evidently weren't fast enough or were too distracted by the sight of the approaching planes to fire upon the USLN carriers. Soon enough, Drake's destroyers and light cruisers also came into view as they followed the planes and sailed towards the Abyssals, firing their guns all the while.

"Looks like everything is still going according to plan," Admiral Belle noted, giving the enemy fleet a hard stare.

"Hmm. I guess your plan _does_ end up surviving first contact with the enemy occasionally," Fleet Admiral Wei mused. "To be honest, I was expecting our carriers to be at least targeted by a few shells. Guess we got lucky, huh?"

"This is almost too easy," Drake remarked, hoping that he wouldn't jinx himself.

* * *

"Their planes are so big…" Kashima glanced upwards as the USLN air strike moved towards the Abyssals.

"And they look so sleek too," Amatsukaze said, shielding her face from the sun as she also stared up at the Hornets.

"They have helicopters as well," Fubuki noticed. "I don't think any of our carriers can launch those, right?"

Yahagi also couldn't resist taking a look at the American air group. "It seems technology has improved quite a bit since World War II, which is no surprise. Even so, those new and powerful planes will still be destroyed if we do not do our part here. Everyone, prepare to attack!"

The fleet took aim and opened fire upon the center of the Abyssal formation, causing the enemy ships to turn their attention away from the air strike and face the immediate surface threat.

"Wow, there's not that many of them left," Amatsukaze said as she looked out at the sea around the enemy fleet, which was littered with burning parts of former Abyssals.

Kashima nodded in agreement. "Seems like the carrier airstrikes were very effective…"

A Ru-class battleship flashed her blue eyes as the ship girls got closer. "Die!"

With that short battle cry, the Ru-class fired her 16-inch guns, causing the ship girls to split up in order to avoid the volley.

"Remember how we practiced during training!" Yahagi yelled as they went their separate ways. "Weave in between them and strike from their flanks or rears! Do not engage them in one-on-one fights! Stay away from their cannons!"

The black-haired light cruiser then sailed up to the Ru-class that had just fired the shot, seemingly going against her own orders of not fighting the Abyssals head-on. The Ru-class scowled as her guns finished their reloads, but before she could position her weapons to eviscerate the approaching light cruiser, Yahagi suddenly stopped, sending a spray of water into the Ru-class' face.

With the Ru-class momentarily distracted, Yahagi ducked underneath the Abyssal's legs and twisted her guns to fire at the Ru-class' kneecaps. At such a close range, the shots immediately brought the Abyssal to her knees, and the Ru-class squeezed her triggers in pain, causing her shots to completely miss Yahagi. As the spray of the Abyssal's shots soaked her back, Yahagi pushed the falling Ru-class off of her. Yahagi's guns reloaded faster than the battleship's, and so she turned and finished off the prone Ru-class with a well-placed shot to the head.

 _That wasn't too bad,_ Yahagi mentally commended herself as she sailed away from the sinking Abyssal. After having seen almost no action during her first sortie, Yahagi was eager to prove her worth, and now that she had taken out an enemy battleship on her own, her confidence surged. Despite this, she was determined not to let it get to her head, and she maintained a cool calm as she continued inside the Abyssal formation, the sound of explosions echoing around her.

However, to her surprise, she noticed another Abyssal plane emerge from somewhere.

 _The Admiral said the Abyssal carriers had used all their planes. And this isn't the section of the enemy fleet where the carriers were said to be…_

Nevertheless, Yahagi turned to shoot the plane down and fired a small flak burst in the direction of the Abyssal fighter, which was flying towards one of the carrier planes. Unfortunately, Yahagi's shot missed, and the light cruiser bit her lip in frustration as she watched the Abyssal plane fire at the Hornet, lighting it aflame after a short burst.

Though the Hornet was clearly finished, the pilots selected for this mission were the best of the best, and so he had a keen enough eye to see that a friendly ship was firing anti-air on his position, and he was able to eject in time. As the pilot parachuted out, Yahagi fired another shot, this time taking out the Abyssal plane. The pilot seemed to be drifting back towards the area where Yahagi and the rest of the fleet had just come from, so he should be relatively safe since there were no Abyssals left there. Yahagi debated going back to deliver the pilot to an even safer stretch of water, but she was prevented from doing so by a voice that caused her to turn around.

"Huhhh… So that fucking human managed to escape, did he?"

Yahagi turned to see a relatively short Abyssal clad in a raincoat-like garb with the hood covering her short, white hair. Her blue eyes followed the burning Hornet as it crashed to the ground, and she wore a savage grin on her face. However, her most striking feature was the large, muscular tail that she possessed. The tail was black and armored, and it was fixed with three sets of guns and sharp, jagged teeth.

"Ah, man, and I could have had a decent pre-cooked snack if he hadn't," the Abyssal, which Yahagi now recognized as a Re-class aviation battleship, continued. She then turned to Yahagi, and her eerie smile widened. "And you must be the bitch who shot my plane down."

Yahagi narrowed her eyes at the new enemy. This sort of battleship was one that was rarely encountered, and was generally seen as a greater threat than the more common Ru-class.

The Re-class tilted her head. "Not in the mood for talking? Then I guess I'll just have to kill you and be done with it. At least make this fun, all right?"

Before the Re-class even finished her sentence, Yahagi was already sailing away from the tail's cannons at full speed, and therefore managed to avoid the initial volley. As she skidded to a stop, warily eyeing the tail's snapping jaws as it reloaded, she held up a finger to her earpiece.

"Admiral, I've made contact with an enemy Re-class. Your orders?"

" _A Re-class? So I guess they didn't send a fleet full of complete fodders… What's the situation around you? How many enemies and allies?"_

"The rest of the Light Attack Force is busy engaging other enemies at the moment, and the Re-class appears to be the only hostile in my vicinity," the Agano-class cruiser answered. "The Heavy Attack Force also has not arrived yet."

" _Okay… Looks like our airstrike is just about finished as well, so you girls are going to be on your own for a while. Can you hold her off for a bit? I'll think of something to sink her for sure if you can last for a few more minutes."_

"Understood, sir."

Yahagi then turned her attention back to the Re-class. The Abyssal licked her lips as her tail gnashed its teeth wildly.

"Done with your phone call yet?"

Yahagi responded by firing her guns, causing the Re-class to maneuver her tail in front of her, tanking the damage from the shells.

"Is that it?" Re-class taunted as she taunted Yahagi with a twisted smirk. Her expression then became more serious. "Tell me, ship girl. Are you afraid of death?"

Thinking that the Abyssal was taunting her again, Yahagi didn't answer. The Re-class, however, just laughed.

"You can try to hide it, but I can see it in your eyes that you are. That is the difference between the ship girls and the Abyssals. Do you know how we came into existence? Our two species?"

Yahagi remained silent again. She did not know, and she never had time to think about it. She knew her old warship self had been created by humans, but she wasn't exactly sure how she got to this world in this form other than she suddenly appeared out on the ocean.

"Well, I suppose it doesn't matter in the end," the Re-class simply said. "But as I was saying… That is why the Abyssals are not afraid to die, and that is why we will win. I wonder, these feelings that we Abyssals bear… Can you ship girls ever match them? Our resolve is far beyond yours, and I would gladly sacrifice my life to advance our cause. Can you say the same?"

Still refusing to give into the Re-class' provocations, Yahagi merely resumed sailing around the Re-class, preventing the Abyssal from getting a lock on her position. Even so, Re-class did not seem worried, and she merely regarded Yahagi with an amused smile. However, that changed as a volley of shells broke into their duel and smashed into the Re-class' chest, causing her to cry out in pain and surprise.

"Yeah! Direct hit!" Sendai cheered as she sailed onto the scene, accompanied by the rest of the Light Attack Force.

"Hmm? She seems different," Amatsukaze observed as she scanned over the Re-class.

"It's the Re-class aviation battleship," Fubuki supplied warily, gripping her guns more tightly. "The Admiral said that her tail is her strongest asset, and that she's more powerful than the standard Ru-class. We should be careful."

"Oh my. But can she really beat all six of us?" Kashima wondered.

The Re-class coughed as the smoke from the explosion died off. Her mostly bare chest was covered with dark burn marks, and her previous cocky expression had been replaced by one of wrath.

"Oh, so you think you're slick, huh?" Re-class growled. "Even if it's six on one, I'll kill you all the same. And trust me, it will be very painful. I'm gonna tear your asses apart!"

The Re-class then fired a flurry of shots in Sendai's direction, causing the light cruiser to yelp and jump to the side, avoiding the shells but getting drenched in seawater nonetheless. As Sendai struggled to rebound from the close impact, the Re-class rushed towards her, the monstrous tail roaring intimidatingly all the while.

Knowing that Sendai would likely be finished if that tail got its teeth on her, Yahagi took action and fired into the Re-class' back. However, the Abyssal was prepared this time, and the tail merely twisted around to block the shots even as the Re-class herself barreled onwards. Yahagi cursed inwardly. In spite of all her CQC training, there was no way she could stand up to an Abyssal with superior strength as well as superior maneuverability, so she was forced to wait for guns to reload before she could do anything else.

Luckily, the rest of the fleet also opened fire, and with four sets of guns concentrating on her, even the Re-class was forced to pause. Despite this, Yahagi knew that the damage to the Re-class wasn't significant, and that the Abyssal could easily wreak havoc while they were reloading unless she did something. Deciding that the last simultaneous attack had been enough of a distraction to prevent the tail from spotting her, Yahagi took the risk of rushing in and attacking from close range. The Agano-class light cruiser charged towards the Re-class, willing her guns to reload as quickly as possible and hoping that the Abyssal and her tail wouldn't suddenly turn around and absolutely wreck her. Unfortunately, before Yahagi could completely close the distance, the Re-class' tail emitted a ferocious snarl and moved to protect its master, twisting around the Abyssal's body and positioning itself to intercept Yahagi. Gasping in surprise, Yahagi tried to backpedal, but the tail's surprisingly fast striking speed proved to be too much, and Yahagi winced as she felt the appendage's teeth rake across her stomach.

The tail could have done much worse and torn out Yahagi's insides if not for Sendai, who finally picked herself off the ground and fired her guns again. Since the tail was occupied, the Re-class was forced to handle the shots herself, and so she jumped away, simultaneously forcing the tail away from Yahagi and allowing the ship girl to escape having her intestines ripped out.

 _That was close,_ Yahagi thought to herself as she sailed a safe distance away from the enemy. Her stomach was bleeding from the brush with the tail's razor-like teeth, but the wounds were shallow and posed no serious threat at the moment. _Even so, if that happens again, I might not be so lucky. I hope the Admiral sends reinforcements soon…_

"Annoying pests," Re-class growled. "You all keep flitting about like flies, but ultimately that's all you are. I wonder how much longer you can last?"

The Re-class, still facing in the direction of Sendai, suddenly twisted her tail around her body and fired her guns at Amatsukaze, surprising the destroyer because the tail's cannons had initially been pointing in the opposite direction. Not having the time to dodge, Amatsukaze shifted her stance so that her guns took the brunt of the impact. Even though the maneuver was successful, the force from the blast still sent her flying. Amatsukaze skipped across the ocean, getting a mouthful of salt water at one point and almost choking on it. When she finally came to a stop and gingerly rose to her feet, she noticed that her Rensouhou-kun guns were severely mangled, essentially taking her out of this fight.

"Fuck…" she groaned as she eyed her destroyed weapon and tried to withstand the immense pain of being bounced across the surface of the ocean. Before she could even fire more than one shot, she had already been nullified. _At this rate, I'll never catch her…_

Amatsukaze then heard the sound of a jet approaching, and she looked up to see one of the American Super Hornets flying by itself, back towards the direction of the Re-class. She then also heard a faint whistling sound which grew louder every passing second.

 _Huh? The Re-class is an aviation battleship. She'll shoot that plane down easily,_ Amatsukaze thought, wondering why the hell a single plane was trying to take it on.

However, to her surprise, the plane, instead of continuing on towards the Re-class, suddenly changed direction. Before the plane retreated, something jumped off of it, landing with a crash of seawater in front of Amatsukaze.

" _All units, step away from the Re-class,"_ Drake's voice then sounded through the fleet communications.

The confused destroyer blinked as the spray died down in front of her, revealing a tall figure with long, messy blonde hair.

"Yo," Iowa greeted with a grin as she turned to face Amatsukaze. "Sorry I'm late."

Before Amatsukaze could even reply, a flurry of explosions sounded near where the Re-class was located, sending pillars of water into the air.

Iowa gave a low whistle. "Looks like that's my cue. See ya!"

With that, the American battleship charged off in the direction of the Re-class. Iowa raised a hand to shield her eyes from the sun as she approached, noting that the Japanese destroyers and light cruisers had formed a circle around the Re-class and were dumping all their fire on the stunned Abyssal. The spray from Bismarck's and Haruna's shots had died down around the Re-class, and the Abyssal appeared relatively unscathed, so it seemed like the shots had missed taking her out for good.

 _Eh, they still did their job,_ Iowa thought as she arrived on the scene.

The Japanese ship girls looked surprised to see her there, but their expressions quickly turned into ones of relief.

"Finally!" Sendai cried.

"Reinforcements?" Fubuki said breathlessly.

Yahagi nodded at Iowa. "So the Admiral sent you… Please lend us your assistance."

"Hmph. Sure thing!" Iowa grinned once more as she flexed her muscles in preparation.

The Re-class frowned as her tail moved away from in front of her, having blocked the majority of the shots. "Who the fuck are you supposed to be?"

Iowa gave a hearty laugh as she opened fire, prompting the Re-class to sail away as fast as she could. Realizing that these shots were far more powerful than those of the previous ship girls, the Re-class grew serious.

"So that's how it's going to be…"

With a guttural cry, the Re-class charged at Iowa, her tail gnashing its teeth hungrily. For her part, Iowa merely smiled in anticipation as the Abyssal approached, not even bothering to move from her spot.

"Is she going to take that thing head-on!?" Amatsukaze wondered out loud as she returned to the battlefield.

"Those Americans really _are_ crazy!" Sendai cried out in disbelief.

"Iowa is a battleship," Yahagi replied. "She has far more strength than we do. Let's leave this to her, and support her when we can."

The Re-class led with her tail, and like an angered cobra, the appendage struck forward with lightning-fast speed. However, since the head of the tail was so large, Iowa was able to grab it by its gun emplacements, stopping the attack as quickly as it started. Iowa held the tail in place even as the teeth snapped open and shut mere inches from her face.

"W-what!?" Re-class cried out, gaping in disbelief.

"Haha!" Iowa laughed, her voice tinted with exertion, "don't underestimate the horsepower of an Iowa-class battleship!"

With her biceps and triceps straining against the tail's muscular body, Iowa bent the two guns on the side of the tail's head downwards, causing the tail to cry out in anger. It roared mightily, vibrating the air around the battlefield, but Iowa was unfazed. The battleship then let go of the tail with her right arm for a brief second, only so she could wind up and deliver a savage uppercut to the side of the tail's head. In an impressive show of strength, Iowa managed to momentarily stun the tail, giving her ample time to slightly turn her body and fire her now-reloaded 16-inch guns into the tail's side. The shot sent the tail flying, dragging the Re-class along with it.

Iowa immediately followed up on the shot by charging after the downed Abyssal. As the Re-class groaned in pain, Iowa grabbed her by the head, placing a hand on either side of the Abyssal's skull. With her starry eyes burning with bloodlust and her body pumping with adrenaline, Iowa pushed her hands together, causing the Re-class' head to explode in a burst of cyan blood and bone. With this killing blow, the tail also went limp, and Iowa panted with exhaustion as she let the headless corpse drop onto the water, where it slowly began to sink.

The rest of the fleet stood by in muted awe at how quickly the battleship managed to finish off the Re-class, though the silence was quickly broken by Sendai's cheering.

"Wow! That was amazing!"

Iowa grinned tiredly. "Thanks!"

Yahagi let out a breath of relief, then reached for her earpiece again. "Admiral, the enemy Re-class has been defeated."

" _Right,"_ Drake responded, switching his communications so that the whole fleet could hear him. " _Rear Admiral Sterrett's forces are also engaging the remnants of the enemy along with the Heavy Attack Force, and based on our radar readings, it looks like the center and rear of the enemy formation has been almost completely destroyed. Hunt down and sink any stragglers, and this battle should be over soon. Good work."_

The next few hours were spent finishing off the last of the Abyssal forces and getting the fleet formation back together once that was done. Yahagi, Amatsukaze, and a few of the carriers were also treated for light wounds, and the ship girls had a chance to resupply as well. As night fell over the Los Angeles coast, all the admirals, officers, and ship girls gathered together on the bridge of the USS _Glorious Tears of Liberty_.

"All right, everyone!" Fleet Admiral Wei began. "For the final post-action report, it looks like we managed to eliminate every single Abyssal in the vicinity. As for our casualties, we lost one Super Hornet, but other than that, there were no deaths and only a few minor injuries. I think it's safe to say that our sortie was a resounding success!"

The officers and ship girls cheered and clapped at this, and Fleet Admiral Wei smiled.

"So, now that that's out of the way, you all have the rest of the night off. And to celebrate…"

Wei clapped his hands once, and the doors to the bridge opened, revealing a group of sailors who pushed in carts containing food and drink. There was even a cart full of alcohol, which caused a few of the officers to whoop in excitement.

"Please enjoy yourselves! Trust me, nights like this in the Navy don't come around often!"

The group immediately broke off in order to gorge themselves, Akagi of course leading the way. The bridge soon became filled with the chatter of the officers and ship girls, and someone even began playing music from one of the speakers in the bridge. All in all, it felt as close to an actual party atmosphere that one could get on a warship.

"Are you sure this is appropriate?" Admiral Belle asked Wei, eyeing the festivities with a strange look.

"Ah, sure it is!" Wei assured her. "Don't you think everyone could use a reward for a job well done? I know I'm tired as hell, for one."

"That's because you stayed up watching those Japanese cartoons last night, not because of the sortie," Belle parried, causing Wei to wince.

"I d-did not!"

"Ooooh! Are you one of those 'weeaboo' people, sir?" Sterrett excitedly asked.

"No! If anything, Drake's the weeaboo here! He literally lives in Japan!"

"NANI!?" Drake replied, causing both Wei and him to burst into laughter.

Belle sighed. "Well, I guess one night won't hurt, though I'd advise you all to go easy on the drinking."

"Like hell I will!" Wei said before rushing towards the party. Sterrett joined him with a grin, and Vice Admiral Jockey merely shook his head as he followed as well.

The rest of the night was filled with merry cheer, and even Drake found himself loosening up after a few drinks. Currently, he had taken off his coat and was engaged in an arm-wrestling contest with Iowa, and though there was no way he could ever beat a ship girl in something like that, in his inebriated state, he for some reason still decided to take her on.

"I'm… About to win… I can feel it!" the rear admiral said between clenched teeth as his muscles strained to push Iowa's hand onto the table.

"Oh? Yer gettin' close, Cap'n!" Iowa, who was also slightly drunk, encouraged, though her lazy stance indicated that she was not putting in any effort at all.

"Yeah! Go, Admiral!" Suzuya cheered from the sidelines. "Show us that those big biceps aren't for nothin'!"

Iowa's arm gave way a bit, causing Drake to grin victoriously. "Y-yes!"

However, the battleship slowly began to push back, shifting the tide of the contest slowly and turning Drake's smile into a frown.

"No! Not like this!" he cried out as his hand approached the table, eventually hitting it as Iowa decided to finish him off.

"Sorry! Better luck next time! Ahahah!" Iowa laughed, as she leaned back and took another swig of her drink. "Now who's next!?"

Drake sighed in defeat, then went over to the main windows of the bridge where Bismarck was standing by herself, a beer in hand.

"Bismarck!" Drake called out as he slung an arm around her shoulder. "Havin' fun yet?"

The German battleship frowned at the physical contact. "If I say 'yes,' will you leave me alone?"

Drake returned her frown with one of his own as he let go off her. "Don't be such an ass. You did well for your first sortie with this fleet, no? No reason to be so uptight."

"Perhaps if I had something other than this cheap American swill to drink, I would feel better."

Drake laughed. "Maybe! Ha!"

Weirded out by her admiral's unnaturally cheerful behavior and because she saw Kaga approaching, Bismarck decided to make her exit. The aircraft carrier was still as serious and sober as usual, and she spared Bismarck a brief glance before heading over to Drake.

"Are you all right, sir?"

Drake leaned against the window as he looked out onto the deck."Yeah. I guess I'm a little drunk, though."

Kaga nodded, then joined him at the window for a few moments before heading back. Though she didn't say much, Drake felt oddly at calm by her presence.

 _Is that why I wasn't so afraid during this sortie, even though we brushed dangerously close to the Abyssals?_

Though this time he had Fleet Admiral's Wei's strategy shielding him and the rest of the combined fleet for his protection, Drake for some reason still felt like there was something else that made him feel a lot safer during this sortie.

 _Her words before the sortie… It couldn't have been that, could it?_

Drake was snapped out of his thoughts as another figure approached, though this time, it was Fleet Admiral Wei.

"Yo! Checking out the Pacific at night, huh?"

"Yeah. It's pretty."

"That it is," Wei agreed as he too looked out the window. "Pretty dangerous as well, though."

Drake noticed that the fleet admiral still had a strange look in his eye, despite the cheery atmosphere around him. He doubted Wei would give him a straight answer if he asked directly, so he tried to bait it out of him.

"Today's sortie was pretty easy, right? I guess I was worried for nothing."

Wei smiled, still staring out at the sea. "Yep, we got really lucky… Though I still think…"

"Think what?"

Wei scratched the back of his head, then turned to Drake with another lazy smile. "Nah, it's nothing. I just feel like the Abyssals went easy on us for no real reason."

Drake nodded. "Yeah. But they would never do something for no reason, right?"

"Yep. That's what's been bothering me. I just feel like… Maybe this attack wasn't meant to be a decisive Abyssal victory," he said, echoing his earlier thoughts.

"So this attack was more of a practice run? Or a distraction?"

"Yeah, a distraction." Wei's eyes turned cold as he looked back at the sea. "And if that's true, then we fucked up somewhere. We fucked up big time."

* * *

The sickening sound of slick blood and tearing flesh filled the stormy air as the Battleship Princess pulled her hand out of Kongou's chest cavity. The normally-cheery battleship looked down in horror at the hole in her torso, then coughed up a spurt of blood and collapsed onto the ocean's surface.

As the rest of the ship girls stared in shocked silence, the Battleship Princess licked the blood off her hand before kicking the supine Kongou back in the direction of the ship girls.

"Weak," the Princess merely stated as she smiled softly, her red eyes flashing devilishly.

She then turned around to face the rest of her comrades. Thirteen other Abyssal Princesses were lined up behind her, their expressions ranging from bored indifference to lustful hunger. Behind them, an enormous black pillar slowly rose from the choppy waves and into the dark sky.

"Now, my Princesses," the Battleship Princess began, "please show them the true power of an Abyssal!"


	14. Rain I

_Looks like rain,_ Shigure thought to herself as she glanced up at the cloudy sky.

The blue-eyed destroyer led her reserve fleet as they sailed behind Rear Admiral Genji's two main fleets. The ship girls had been sent to investigate a disturbance nearby the Midway Atoll in the Pacific, and American UAV reports suggested that there may be Abyssal activity in the area. Even so, it seemed like an actual battle with the enemy was unlikely, as they were still a fair distance away from Midway, so there was nothing of strategic importance for the Abyssals to attack.

However, that made it all the stranger: why would the Abyssals be conducting operations in an area where there was nothing of value? Rear Admiral Genji had suggested that it may be a maneuver meant as a distraction from the main assault on Los Angeles, so it was possible that the enemy would not even come out to fight. Though Shigure would be disappointed if she didn't get to do anything on her first real sortie, she felt that she would also be a bit relieved. As they were right now, her fleet had no training aside from the basics drilled into them from their previous life as warships and the base's standard regimen, and their admiral was not even there to command them. If they were forced to fight, the responsibility for her fleet would essentially fall solely upon Shigure's shoulders, and the destroyer wasn't sure if she was ready for that just yet.

 _I'm sure_ they _would be disappointed if they didn't get to fight, though,_ she mused, eyeing her two more energetic sisters who were part of Genji's fleet. Yuudachi and Kawakaze had been on sorties before, and both of them looked pumped up to fight again, echoing the enthusiasm of their Secretary Ship.

"Hey, looks like it might rain," Murasame noted with a hint of excitement, sharing Shigure's thoughts. "Imagine our first sortie in the rain… Wouldn't that be fitting?"

"I suppose it would," Shigure smiled. Rain always put her in a good mood.

"Let's make it rain with the blood of the Abyssals instead!" Kiso declared, sailing up beside them.

"I doubt we will even see the enemy," Shiranui coldly responded. "Most likely, we'll just end up soaked and return empty-handed. What a wonderful way to start our new careers."

"Your optimism is infectious," Murasame sarcastically replied with a frown, causing Shiranui to simply shrug.

" _Okay, everyone!"_ Kongou's cheery voice called out over the shared fleet comms. " _We should be nearing the target area in about two minutes! Remember, if you see anything suspicious, share it with the rest of the fleet!"_

The eighteen ship girls continued on until they reached the designated area of the ocean. The water there didn't look any different from the ocean around it, but apparently this was where the Abyssal activity was most prevalent. The fleet had mostly gone out of formation by now as they looked around the water, and though they searched for a good five minutes with their radar, sonar, and eyes, they didn't find anything out of the ordinary.

"Admiral, nothing's here, desu," Kongou reported into her earpiece, her tone slightly deflated.

" _All right, that's what we assumed anyway. You might as well just -"_

"Wait, something's coming up on the sonar," Kawakaze cut in. "It seems pretty big…"

"An enemy fleet?" Kongou questioned.

"No… It looks like a single object."

" _What could that possibly be…"_ Genji wondered aloud. " _Get back in formation and standby for further orders, I suppose."_

The fleet complied, and as they returned to their battle formation, the object grew more conspicuous. The ship girls stood in the area and watched as a large black structure slowly began to surface from underneath the waves. It appeared to be a big cylinder-like shape, though only the very top of it was peeking above the ocean's surface.

"What the hell is that?" Junyou asked, raising an eyebrow at the thing.

"A new type of Abyssal?" Hiei guessed, cautiously readying her guns.

Ise shook her head. "It doesn't seem to be alive, so I doubt it's an Abyssal. I also don't know of any Abyssals being that big, since most of them seem to be around our size."

"Admiral, are you seeing this?" Kongou asked.

" _An American UAV in the area should be arriving soon so we can get a broadcast here on the ship,"_ he replied.

Sure enough, a few minutes later, a UAV could be seen flying in the distance, getting closer to the area as the object continued to emerge from under the water. However, as the UAV approached, the outer rim of the enormous cylinder's top surface suddenly began glowing a bright cyan. When the glow reached its peak, a lightning-fast laser shot out from the cylinder's edge and struck the UAV, blowing it up in an explosion of metal and fire.

" _What the hell?!"_ Genji exclaimed. " _Did that thing just blow up the UAV?"_

"Uh, yes, it appears so, sir," Ise replied, still staring up in surprise at the blast.

" _Well, then it's likely some sort of anti-air platform. Either way, it's presence clearly isn't good for us, so we should destroy it. All ships except for the carriers, prepare to fire. Eliminate that thing."_

"You heard him! Ready your guns, desu!" Kongou called out as she cast an arm forward and aimed her guns at the large black structure.

The rest of the fleet, reserves included, also took aim at the pillar, and after checking briefly to make sure that everyone was prepared, Kongou gave the final order.

"Fire!"

A symphony of firing cannons rung out through the tumultuous ocean air, and loud crashes resulted as shells from almost every ship type smashed into the side of the black pillar, which was still slowly rising from the water. A brief period of silence followed the explosions, and the pillar was obscured by black smoke for a few seconds before it dissipated, revealing the structure to be unharmed.

"Admiral, it looks like the volley was ineffective," Kongou informed Genji, eyeing the pillar suspiciously.

" _What? Just what is that thing made of?"_

"What should we do now?"

" _Well… For now, just -"_

Kongou's attention quickly shifted away from her admiral's words when Yuudachi interrupted them.

"A large number of unknown contacts are appearing on the sonar, poi! They look like they're Abyssals this time!"

"Bloody hell!" Kongou exclaimed. "How many?"

"Uh… Fourteen, I think!"

"Only fourteen?" Kiso repeated. "There's eighteen of us here. We can take them!"

"Looks like we have no choice! They're right under us!" Ise said, readying her guns once more.

"Everybody, back up!" Kongou commanded, waving the fleets back. "Get in formation! Prepare to fire if necessary!"

With a sense of urgency now palpable in the air, the three fleets sailed back in their formation, with Genji's two main fleets lined up side by side and Drake's reserve force in the back. They then stood there as they awaited the arrival of the Abyssals, the strange black pillar slowly continuing to rise from the sea all the while.

Soon enough, fourteen shapes emerged from the depths, revealing themselves to the ship girls. This time it was clear that it was Abyssals they were facing, as all fourteen of the enemy ships were similar in size to the ship girls themselves. However, what surprised the fleet was that the vast majority of the Abyssals were unrecognizable types that they had never seen before, not even in any videos or post-battle reports collected from the Abyssal War thus far.

Though many of these Abyssals were unknown to the ship girls, Kongou did recognize two of them, and she did not like what she saw. Standing in front of her were the Battleship Princess and the Airfield Princess, two of the strongest Abyssals known to exist. Kongou's expression darkened as she realized that the situation had shifted heavily in favor of the Abyssals. One Princess was enough of a challenge, but two? And who knew how strong the other twelve Abyssals present were?

The ship girl and Abyssal fleets faced off, neither one making a move. Some of the ship girls, the destroyers in particular, widened their eyes in fear at the strange beasts that were attached to the Abyssals. If the Abyssal herself wasn't intimidating enough, her beast looked like it came straight out of hell and can and would kill you in the most horrifying way imaginable.

Finally, the Battleship Princess stepped forward. Though she had the appearance of a pale but beautiful young woman, the horns on her head and her dangerous, glowing red eyes gave the air around her a sinister atmosphere. Her enormous beast lurked behind her, its jaw open and lined with sticky saliva. It breathed heavily as it moved forward on its grotesque, muscular gray arms.

"Who is the flagship of this fleet?" Battleship Princess asked in English, her voice raspy but lined with a sharp edge at the same time.

Kongou took a moment to compose herself before stepping forward. "I am. Are you the Battleship Princess?"

The Abyssal gave a sickly smile. "Yes. Judging by your appearance… You must be Kongou, nameship of the Kongou-class, correct?"

Slightly unnerved that the Abyssals had that intelligence on her, Kongou nevertheless nodded. The British-born battleship briefly wondered why her admiral was being so silent at a time like this, but it wasn't as if he could save them anyway. Since the UAV had been destroyed, it was also possible that he had no clue what was even going on right now.

"Well, you are quite unlucky, aren't you, Miss Kongou?" The Battleship Princess continued. "You seem to have run into fourteen Abyssal Princesses at the same time… A shame."

With that sentence, the Battleship Princess had confirmed Kongou's worst fears. "W-what do you want? Why are there fourteen Princesses here?"

"Ah, of course. You see that object behind us?" Battleship Princess asked, briefly glancing at the black pillar. "That is Bethlehem. It is our headquarters, and we have decided that it is finally time for us to move it from the seafloor so that we can begin our operations in earnest. Its appearance would undoubtedly make a ruckus, so we came here to guard it as it surfaces."

"Wait," Ise then cut in, "so the attack on the American coast… Was that a diversion?"

Battleship Princess nodded. "That is correct. The fleet we sent to Los Angeles was relatively weak, but we knew that you humans would not take the defense of such an important city lightly. With most of your resources devoted towards stopping that attack, you would not be able to send a significant presence to oppose the rise of Bethlehem… Though it appears that you did manage to scrounge up some forces. We expected one fleet, two at most, but it looks like you brought three… No matter. It will not make a difference."

"Hey, where're those _Kido Butai_ bitches?" the Airfield Princess asked, scanning over the ship girl fleet. "Come on, don't tell me that they didn't show up?"

"Why, so you can get your ass kicked again?" one of the smaller Abyssals said with a smirk. She had glowing purple eyes and snow-white hair and skin, and the lower half of her body appeared to be encased within her beast, which was a sort of platform with two demonic-looking jaws where her right and left legs should be.

"Shut up, brat," Airfield Princess spat. "I almost had them…"

"Either way," Battleship Princess interrupted, "I think it is time to sink them. Reinforcements could be an annoyance, so it is better to get rid of them now."

The ship girls immediately went on edge and prepared for combat, though they were all notably less enthusiastic and more apprehensive about fighting now that they knew exactly who they were up against.

"Wait!" Kongou called out, stopping anything from happening. Though the ship girls outnumbered the Abyssals, there was no way that they could take on fourteen Princesses at the same time. "I… I have a proposal to make."

"Oh?" Battleship Princess raised an eyebrow in amusement. "Let us hear it, then."

Kongou sucked in a breath before fixing the Battleship Princess with a determined stare. "I challenge you to a one-on-one duel! If I win, you all have to leave this place immediately!"

"Huh?" Airfield Princess scowled. "Are you stupid? Can't you see -"

"And what if I win?" Battleship Princess cut her off.

"Then we'll leave, or you can try and sink us if you really want," Kongou answered.

"... You're not seriously going to accept this challenge, are you, Dyson?" the smallest Princess asked, crossing her arms.

"Why not? I think it may be entertaining," Battleship Princess replied as she stepped forward again. "Battleship Kongou. I accept your terms. If you have the courage, come and face me."

Kongou's eyes lingered on the Princess' fearsome beast for a moment, but she forced herself to move forward. _For the sake of the fleet… I can't lose here!_

"No! Sister, have you lost your mind!?" Hiei called out.

Kongou tried to give Hiei a reassuring smile. "Don't worry. I won't lose, desu!"

"But…!"

Ise grabbed hold of Hiei, preventing the younger Kongou-class battleship from doing anything rash.

"We don't know if the Abyssal will keep her promise, but this is the best chance we have," Ise told Hiei. "Only twelve of us have seen combat before, and there are fourteen Abyssal Princesses over there. Kongou is the strongest ship in our fleet, and so it's far more likely that she could win a one-on-one rather than have us fight a full fleet battle."

The ship girl and Abyssal fleets gave the two combatants some room, backing up slightly. Kongou and the Battleship Princess, also known as Dyson, faced each other, the former with a look of determination and the latter with a smirk on her face.

"I will give you the first move," Battleship Princess announced, "so go ahead and -"

Before the Abyssal could even finish her sentence, Kongou had fired her guns, hitting Dyson squarely in the torso with a full volley. With the smoke from the shots still hanging in the air, Kongou charged towards the Battleship Princess.

 _Now, while she's stunned!_

Kongou grit her teeth and prepared to smash the Abyssal's face in with a right haymaker. However, just before her fist could make contact, she felt a sharp pain in her chest. She looked down and found the Battleship Princess' hand lodged in her breast, the blood slowly starting to spread through her white miko uniform. A crash of thunder sounded, and rain slowly began to fall.

The sickening sound of slick blood and tearing flesh filled the stormy air as the Battleship Princess pulled her hand out of Kongou's chest cavity. The normally-cheery battleship looked down in horror at the hole in her torso, then coughed up a spurt of blood and collapsed onto the ocean's surface.

As the rest of the ship girls stared in shocked silence, the Battleship Princess licked the blood off her hand before kicking the supine Kongou back in the direction of the ship girls.

"Weak," the Princess merely stated as she smiled softly, her red eyes flashing devilishly.

She then turned around to face the rest of her comrades. The thirteen other Abyssal Princesses were lined up behind her, their expressions ranging from bored indifference to lustful hunger. Behind them, the enormous black pillar slowly rose from the choppy waves and into the dark sky.

"Now, my Princesses," the Battleship Princess began, "please show them the true power of an Abyssal!"

With another crash of thunder, all hell broke loose. The Abyssal Princess launched themselves at the ship girls, and the ship girls, their hesitation replaced by rage as they watched their flagship be cut down so easily, charged forward as well. Explosions and gunfire filled the air, adding to the sounds of thunder and pattering rain.

Shigure found herself in the company of her three sisters as they struggled to make sense of the situation. The waves became choppy, throwing off their balance as they dodged flying shells and aircraft, both hostile and friendly.

"S-someone needs to contact the Admiral!" Kawakaze yelled over the sounds of the battle.

Yuudachi shook her head. "I tried already, poi! Something's jamming the communications! I think it might be that Bethlehem thing or whatever!"

Shigure frowned. "Maybe one of us should head back to the ship and tell him. The battle right now has no organization…"

"That bitch," Murasame cursed, "that Dyson bitch must have realized that the result of her duel would cause our fleet to lose its formation like this…"

"Nothing we can do about it now, poi! Just try not to die!"

Shigure shook her head. "No, Yuudachi. You heard them, didn't you? Those are all Abyssal Princesses. How are we possibly supposed to beat them?"

"But it's not like we can give up, right?" Kawakaze countered. "We won't know unless we try."

"You girls look like you're having a fun time."

The four Shiratsuyu-class destroyers whirled around to see the small Abyssal Princess from before.

"Hello! I hope I'm not interrupting something."

"Shigure, Murasame, get back, poi," Yuudachi hissed as she prepared for battle along with Kawakaze. "We'll handle this."

"H-huh? No way!" Murasame protested. "We can't let you fight on your own!"

"It doesn't fucking matter," the Abyssal cut in. "You're all going to die no matter what you do, okay? But I do like it when they fight back, so feel free to give everything you have!"

"Leave us alone, and you won't get hurt," Kawakaze advised the Princess. "It's four against one. You can't win."

The Abyssal merely laughed at that. "Ha! Is that so? Do you know who you're talking to? I am the Destroyer Princess! Regular destroyers like you stand no chance against me, whether there is one or one hundred of you!"

"So we're going to have to fight after all, huh?" Kawakaze realized. "Well, if that's the case, then take this!"

The red-haired destroyer fired her guns at the Destroyer Princess, but the Abyssal slunk away from the shots, moving at a speed that shocked all four ship girls. The Destroyer Princess then rushed at the four of them, socking Kawakaze under her chin before she could even think of reacting. Yuudachi shifted her position and aimed her gun at the speedy Abyssal, firing as soon as the Princess made contact with Kawakaze. The shots were on target, but they had no noticeable effect as the Abyssal simply turned around and rushed at Yuudachi this time.

The blonde destroyer tried to leap away, but the Destroyer Princess was far too fast. The Princess grabbed Yuudachi by the red school ribbon around her neck, pulling her forward. Yuudachi lost her balance, allowing the Destroyer Princess to crush Yuudachi's throat with her right hand, causing the ship girl to fall onto the surface of the ocean and cough. The Destroyer Princess then aimed her handcannon at Yuudachi's head, preparing to execute her, but Shigure stepped in, firing her own gun at the Abyssal and causing the enemy to flinch slightly.

The Destroyer Princess then turned her purple gaze on Shigure, scowling angrily all the while. Shigure felt a pang of fear course through her spine as she felt the full force of the Princess' killing intent, and she suddenly lost the ability to aim her gun properly. Her limbs felt like jelly, and even as the Abyssal sailed towards her, she found it hard to move.

"Shigure!" Murasame called out, firing at the Destroyer Princess at the same time. The Abyssal easily dodged the shot, barely needing to slow down her charge.

Murasame cursed at her miss, then decided to charge straight at the Princess. Noticing Murasame behind her, the Destroyer Princess smirked and flipped around to face her. With the Abyssal's full attention now on her, Murasame hesitated for a moment, and the Destroyer Princess aimed her gun on her left hand and her guns at her 'feet' at the twintailed destroyer. The cannons fired, and Murasame was consumed in a flurry of explosions.

"No!" Shigure yelled, finally snapped out of her daze. Praying that Murasame was all right, Shigure fired at the Destroyer Princess again, though this time, she missed by a mile. The Princess laughed as she stood still and watched Shigure's shots fly by.

The smoke cleared around Murasame's body, and she was no longer in any condition to fight. Her left leg had been completely blown off, and her entire back was on fire as she lay faced-down on the water's surface, her otherwise-motionless body being tossed around by the rowdy waves. It appeared that she was still alive since she didn't begin sinking, but it was evident that her life force wouldn't last for much longer.

"Murasame…" Yuudachi muttered in horror as she recovered. She then turned her furious turquoise eyes towards the Destroyer Princess. "You bitch… I'll kill you!"

Shots were fired at the Destroyer Princess, but they weren't from Yuudachi. Kawakaze returned to the battlefield as well, but her attack also sailed wide, causing the Abyssal to shake her head in disappointment.

"Look at you all. You're just firing blindly, and you have no strategy whatsoever," she chided. "Are all ship girls this incompetent without their admirals? Do you really rely on humans that much?"

"Shut the fuck up!" Yuudachi roared, firing all her guns along with every torpedo she had.

The Destroyer Princess evaded the shots once more, disappearing from her previous location almost instantaneously. She zipped past Shigure as she turned towards Yuudachi, throwing seawater into Shigure's face as she sailed by. Yuudachi, still feeling the recoil from her shots, gasped in surprise as the Destroyer Princess charged up to her and aimed her left handguns at Yuudachi's head, trying to finish her off for good this time. Yuudachi barely managed to avoid certain death by swerving away and raising her arms in front of her face, but this resulted in the Destroyer Princess' shot hitting Yuudachi's right shoulder instead. The resulting close-range shot caused Yuudachi's arm to almost go flying off, but her shoulder remained loosely attached to her torso, hanging onto the bone by a few strings of flesh.

"Auuughghh!" Yuudachi shrieked, unable to hold in the pain. She desperately tried to sail away, but the Destroyer Princess refused to let her go. The Abyssal grabbed hold of Yuudachi's right arm, pulling on it as the ship girl sailed in the opposite direction. This caused the arm to completely rip off, and Yuudachi yelled out in agony once more, collapsing onto the ocean's surface this time.

Shigure watched in muted horror as all this unfolded within a span of a few seconds. _No… What's going on?_

"Fuck you!" Kawakaze shouted defiantly, tears of frustration welling up in her eyes. She rushed the Princess, aiming to beat her down with her handgun.

Surprisingly, the Princess did not move, instead allowing Kawakaze to approach. Kawakaze smashed her gun onto the Destroyer Princess' headgear, but the impact seemed to have no effect, merely creating a dull ringing noise as metal impacted metal. The Destroyer Princess used their close proximity to maneuver her lower body towards Kawakaze, and one of the jaws on her 'feet' managed to grab hold of Kawakaze's ankle.

"L-let go!" the red-haired destroyer feebly cried, but it was too late. With a loud crunch, the jaws completely crushed Kawakaze's ankle, staining its teeth red with the ship girl's blood.

Kawakaze screamed as she fell, unable to maintain her balance with only one leg. However, this allowed the other jaw to grab hold of Kawakaze's remaining leg, and this time, the beast completely cleaved off the destroyer's foot, grinding it to dust inside its maw. Kawakaze's loud, pained cries forced Shigure into action, and she fired at the Destroyer Princess, making sure to properly take aim this time. The shots missed, but they at least managed to get the Abyssal away from Kawakaze, whose ankles were now freely pouring blood into the dark ocean.

"Pathetic, all of you," the Destroyer Princess said with a wide grin. "This was barely even a workout."

"Shi… Shigure…" Kawakaze called out, fighting through the intense pain. "Run… Go tell the Admiral…"

The Destroyer Princess burst out laughing at this. "Oh, you're going to run? All right! If you're okay with leaving your friends here to die, then go ahead. I promise I won't chase after you."

"No, I would never…"

"Shigure…!" Yuudachi also yelled as she weakly lifted her head. "If… If at least you can get out alive…"

Shigure hesitated. On one hand, she did not want to leave her sisters to their certain deaths. On the other hand, even if she stayed they would all most likely die anyway, and after what the Destroyer Princess did to her sisters, Shigure was even more terrified to face her.

"Indecisive, are we?" the Destroyer Princess taunted. "How about this: I promise you that if you stay, I will give you a death far more horrible and painful than what I did to your friends. But if you leave, I'll kill them all for sure. What do you say? Hahaha!"

The Abyssal's violet eyes burned with a mad luster, and the jaws at her heels snapped wildly. All Shigure's instincts told her to run, and even her logical side knew that she stood no chance against the Destroyer Princess on her own.

 _But I can't run…_

Ever since Shigure had been reborn as a ship girl, she had been plagued by the memories of her past service in World War II. The thing that haunted her the most was the destruction of the Nishimura Fleet and how she was the sole survivor. Those feelings of regret and cowardice refused to leave her even now that all those ships had been reborn as well, and she still found herself at Surigao Strait in her dreams, reliving those awful moments.

 _No matter what happens,_ she decided as she raised her weapon, _I will not run. This Abyssal Princess may torture me in any way she likes, but nothing can compare to the pain of leaving my comrades to die!_

"Ah… Maybe you're stronger than I thought," the Destroyer Princess said when she noticed Shigure's refusal to run. "Well then, the least I can do is carry out my promise. Prepare yourself, fool!"

Shigure fired and then immediately backed up, trying to develop a strategy that would allow her to overcome the odds and defeat the Princess. _She's much faster than I am, and her armor and firepower far outweigh mine… The only real advantage I have over her is that I have legs and she doesn't, but even that doesn't matter because she can still easily outmaneuver me. What can my legs do that her lower body can't?_

It was then that Shigure realized the answer. Though it was a longshot, it would have to do. The Destroyer Princess avoided Shigure's first shot and rushed towards her, her purple eyes blazing. Shigure remained in place, and instead of running from her much-faster opponent, she instead chose to take her time and aim properly, shooting the air directly in front of the Destroyer Princess, effectively leading her shot. Since the Abyssal was moving at such high speeds and did not expect Shigure to aim at a location other than her body, the Princess ran right into the shots, causing her to cry out in surprise and stop her momentum. Shigure chose this moment to rush forward.

 _My firepower has very little effect, but physical attacks can still cripple her if used in the right place!_

The Shiratsuyu-class destroyer sped forward, her engines running at full capacity. The Destroyer Princess had recovered and raised her left arm gun to stop Shigure in her tracks, but instead of trying to dodge, Shigure instead jumped into the air and planted both her feet into the Destroyer Princess' face. The unexpected impact flipped the Princess over, and now she lay on her back on the surface of the ocean. Snarling with the pent-up fury she held inside, Shigure turned her guns on the Destroyer Princess, who was struggling to right herself among the choppy waves, her lack of legs only making that task harder. Shigure gave a wild roar before firing her full salvo at the defenseless Abyssal. The sea around the Destroyer Princess exploded upwards as Shigure's shots hit their target, and without waiting for the spray to die down, Shigure rushed at her enemy. However, before she could get her hands on the Abyssal and strangle the life out of her, Shigure noticed shapes underneath the water heading towards her.

 _Torpedoes!? She managed to launch torpedoes in that state?_

Forced to now zig-zag in order to avoid the torpedoes, Shigure was thrown off course. The destroyer managed to escape the underwater projectiles, but she had no time to rest as she felt something hard slam into her, sending her skipping across the surface of the ocean. When she finally lost speed and came to rest among the unruly waves, Shigure feebly got to her feet, coughing all the while. It hurt to breathe, and her ribs felt like they had been smashed to pieces. Unwanted tears rushed to the corners of her eyes as she tried to remain standing, but the pain was slowly overcoming her.

She had no time to recover as a second blow knocked her to the ground, and this time, she didn't even bother trying to get up. The Destroyer Princess stood above her, the Abyssal's eyes burning even brighter.

"Okay… That kind of hurt, I will admit," the Princess said, her cocky smile replaced by a frown. "But even that is nothing to an Abyssal Princess. Now, as promised, I am going to kill you. My beast here will slowly chew you up until there is nothing left."

Shigure moaned in pain as she tried to crawl away, but one of the Princess' jaws took hold of her left foot, much like it had done to Kawakaze earlier. However, this time, the jaw bit down and began chewing upwards, crushing Shigure's entire foot and moving up towards the rest of her left leg. Shigure desperately tried to turn and pry her leg free with both her hands, but this allowed the second jaw to bite down on Shigure's right arm, drawing blood as its dull white teeth began crushing it. Shigure's screams were lost among the sounds of crunching bone and tearing flesh as the Princess' jaws slowly consumed the ship girl. Trying feebly to break free, Shigure writhed in their grip, but this only caused her body to contort even further, inflicting more pain.

"Noooo! Stop, please!" she begged, tears freely streaming down her face. The ocean around her had become dyed red with her blood, and shards of splintered bone littered the waves.

The Destroyer Princess smiled. "Your screams… They're even better than I imagined!"

Shigure continued to cry into the stormy air, making sounds she never thought she could as the rain washed away her blood and tears. As the pain overwhelmed her senses and her consciousness began to fade, she saw the faces of her sisters, which were then replaced by the faces of those in the Nishimura Fleet.

 _I'm sorry, everyone… I failed…_


	15. Rain II

**_A/N:_** _Someone in the review section mentioned something about the Destroyer Princess, and though only one person brought it up, I'm sure there were plenty of people thinking something similar, so I might as well address it here. While I am aware that the Destroyer Princess is traditionally seen as the Abyssal reincarnation of Harusame, in this story, there is no 'ship girls become Abyssals when they die' or vice-versa, so the Destroyer Princess and Harusame are not the same person. The reason for that is just because I felt like writing the Abyssals slightly differently in this story, and that the ship girl/Abyssal conversion theme has been done many times before, and it usually ends up becoming THE central aspect of the plot. There are plenty of authors who can take an overdone concept and make it great, but unfortunately I am not that skilled, so I will leave that aspect of Kancolle out of this story._

 _That being said, the Abyssals and ship girls are still related, and there is a reason why Harusame and the Destroyer Princess look so similar. This will be explained later on, so no point in saying it here. Either way, thank you to that reviewer for pointing this out, and thanks in general to everyone has reviewed. Well, this author's note has gone on for long enough, so onto the actual plot:_

* * *

 _Shigure found herself back on the rainy ocean. She did not know exactly where or when she was, but she was outfitted with all her standard equipment, and so she sailed forwards, trying to figure out what she was doing there. However, the farther she sailed, the darker the world around her became, and the harder the rain poured. She was beginning to feel a sense of desperation creeping up on her, and she wondered if she would continue sailing through this emptiness forever. Finally, a lone shape emerged from the darkness, causing Shigure to sigh in relief as she recognized the familiar silhouette._

" _F-Fusou, is that you?" Shigure asked timidly._

 _The figure turned towards her, revealing that she was indeed the battleship Fusou. Her red eyes twinkled through the rain, and she smiled at Shigure. The destroyer smiled back, but her expression quickly shifted to a frightened one as she noticed the gruesome wounds on the battleship. Fusou held an arm over her stomach but could not hide the blood spilling from it, and she coughed up more blood as flames began to spread from her wound and onto the rest of her body._

" _Shigure…" the burning battleship started, staring into the petrified destroyer's eyes. "Why… Why did you run…?"_

" _What…" Shigure took a step backwards._

 _In the distance, more shapes emerged, all of them fixated on Shigure. They were the other members of the Nishimura Fleet, and though Shigure couldn't see their expressions from here, she did not feel any sort of comfort from their presence._

" _Shigure," Fusou moaned, reaching a hand towards her._

" _W-wait, what do you want?" Shigure asked, taking another step back. Though she normally enjoyed Fusou's company, she felt like something was very wrong here._

 _Fusou's red eyes filled with tears. "Ah… Are you going to run away from us again? Why…"_

" _I didn't run…" Shigure insisted even as she took another step backwards. "You - you all told me to escape! I didn't want to, but I had to!"_

" _Oh, Shigure, it hurts so much," Fusou groaned as she continued to reach for the destroyer._

 _It was then that Shigure realized that she must be in a dream. Now that she thought about it, she recognized that she had dreams similar to this multiple times before, and this was the part where she usually awoke. However, she felt that she had to do something different this time. The fight with the Destroyer Princess came to mind, and she knew that just like the decision she made in that battle, she wouldn't run away anymore._

 _Shigure swallowed nervously, but stood her ground. "Fusou… Everyone… I… I ran away last time, but this time, I promise I will stay and fight. I won't let this happen to you again. I promise."_

 _Fusou paused, then slowly smiled at Shigure again. Shigure felt the the warmth seep back into the atmosphere, but before she could say anything more, another voice spoke._

" _That won't make a difference…"_

 _Shigure whirled around and came face to face with the bloodied and bruised body of her sister, Yuudachi. Behind her were the damaged bodies of Kawakaze and Murasame as well, all three of them glaring at Shigure._

" _You all…" Shigure said, unsure of what they were doing in her dream which usually only involved the Nishimura Fleet._

" _Yes, you stayed and fought," Kawakaze picked up, "but what difference did it make? Were you able to win in the end?"_

" _No," Murasame continued, "we were all still defeated, and we all still suffered. You were useless."_

" _Is that true, Shigure?" Fusou asked, her voice full of disappointment and sadness._

 _Shigure felt trapped. "I… I…!"_

" _You know, Shigure," Yuudachi whispered, suddenly right beside Shigure's ear. "Even if you stayed back then, you wouldn't have helped. I mean… What does it matter if we're all still dead in the end?"_

" _Shigure!" Fusou yelled before she let go of her stomach. Her blood and organs immediately gushed out, and her torso ripped off of her hips, bisecting her. Flames consumed her sinking body, and in the background, the rest of the Nishimura Fleet suffered similar fates._

 _Shigure stood still with horrified shock, then turned around to see the lifeless corpses of her sisters also sinking into the ocean. The rain poured harder than ever._

* * *

Frightened blue eyes flew open, and Shigure awoke from her nightmare. After taking a few steadying breath to calm herself, Shigure looked around and found that she was in bed, probably in the base's hospital. She had no recollection of what happened after she had passed out from the pain, but fortunately, it looked as if she had been fully repaired, as the parts of her limbs that the Destroyer Princess chewed off had now been replaced with new ones. She didn't know how she was still alive, but she was grateful for it. However, that good feeling was lost as soon as she remembered the fate of her sisters. The words Yuudachi said to her in her dream rang through her skull, and she frantically swept her eyes across the rest of the room to see if she could locate the other Shiratsuyu-class destroyers.

A dark blue curtain stood to her right and obscured most of the room from her view, and to her left was a window, so the only other bed she could see was the one directly in front of her. Lying in that bed was Kongou, the flagship of their ill-fated sortie. The battleship was asleep, and an oxygen mask covered her face. Either way, it seemed like she was alive, which was miraculous considering the savage blow the Battleship Princess had dealt her.

Though Shigure was relieved to see that Kongou was not dead, she still needed to know what happened to her sisters. She tried to get out of her bed in order to search for them, but her new limbs refused to cooperate and half of her body did not move at all. Unable to get out of bed, Shigure thought of just calling out to them instead, but before she could do that, someone drew back the curtain and stepped up beside her bed. The tall, broad figure with dark eyes and hair startled her at first, but she quickly recognized who it was even though she had only seen him from afar up until this point.

"A… Admiral Drake?" she said weakly.

Drake nodded. "You're awake now?"

"Um… Yes. I mean, yes, sir."

"That's good. Does it hurt?"

Now that he asked, Shigure did feel a soreness resonating throughout her body, particularly in the limbs that had been chewed off by the Abyssal. Though it was very unpleasant, this pain was nothing compared to the torture she had been put through during the actual sortie. The very thought of the Abyssal's jaws made her shudder, and she quickly pushed it out of her mind. The fact that the Destroyer Princess looked eerily similar to one of her sisters, Harusame, also unnerved her, but she knew they couldn't be related since Harusame was still at the base the last time Shigure checked.

"A little… But it's nothing," Shigure replied, then remembered her more important task. "Sir, what happened to my sisters? Where are they?"

Drake frowned, thinking. "Uh… Oh, you mean Murasame?"

"Yes. Also Kawakaze and Yuudachi. They were part of Admiral Genji's fleet."

Drake looked like he was struggling to remember their faces, but after a few moments, he was able to answer her.

"Yeah… So Yuudachi and Kawakaze should be fine, but they're both still asleep right now. Murasame is all right too, I guess, but she won't be waking up for a while."

Shigure was relieved to hear that none of her sisters was dead, at the very least. She then gathered the courage to ask another difficult question.

"Did… Did anyone sink?"

"No," Drake answered, a hint of surprise in his tone. "You all somehow managed to survive. Though the Abyssals fucked your fleet up pretty badly, the only part of a ship girl we can't reconstruct is her brain, and none of you took a shot that caused permanent brain damage. A couple girls like Murasame and Kongou were technically dead for a while, but the medics and repairmen on the _Guadalcanal_ were able to artificially keep the blood pumping to their brains until they reached the base. It was close, but they pulled it off. Japan only has the best and brightest working with the Kancolle Program, and it really showed there."

Shigure felt another wave of relief at hearing that. "I see… Thank you. But… There is one thing I still don't understand. How did we escape that battle alive? There were fourteen Abyssal Princesses there. Did someone in our fleet actually manage to defeat -"

"Yeah, no," Drake cut her off. "From what I understand, you girls basically did no damage to the enemy and had your asses handed to you. The only reason you survived was because the Americans at Midway and Pearl Harbor received an emergency request from Genji to send reinforcements to your position. The US sent a huge squadron of B-2 stealth bombers and our fastest submarines when Genji radioed that the enemy was employing some sort of anti-air fire. The bombers dropped everything they had on the Abyssals and that 'Bethlehem' thing as a distraction while the submarines collected you all and then sped away. Unfortunately, every single bomber on that mission was shot down despite their usual ability to slip past anti-air defenses, and all the pilots died. It came at a heavy cost… I guess our Kancolle units are just that important."

"Oh…" Shigure suddenly felt a lot worse now that she learned that so many had died anyway to get her out of there. "I… I'm sorry…"

Drake shrugged. "It wasn't your fault. If anyone's to blame, it's the people who didn't see this coming, which would be us admirals. But all we can do now is recover and learn from our mistakes. It's useless beating ourselves up over something we can't change."

Shigure felt nothing behind Drake's last sentence, and she wondered if the admiral himself even believed what he was saying. Either way, she decided that it was not her place to question him.

"But anyway, I feel bad that your first sortie ended up like this," Drake continued. "So much for being in reserve…"

"It's… It's all right," Shigure replied dutifully, though she doubted she would be able to forget this mission anytime soon.

Drake nodded. "Uh, I'll be checking on Murasame periodically as well, so I'll let you know if she wakes up. But I've got to get back to work now and I'm sure you're tired, so I'll leave you to rest. I'll be back later."

The rear admiral gave her a small salute before heading off.

* * *

Drake sighed softly as he approached the Administrative Building on his walk back from the hospital in the docks. So far, Shigure was the only one from his fleet who had regained consciousness, and even then, he didn't even know what to say to her. It was also his first time meeting her, which made things even more awkward.

 _She must have been through a lot._ If the reports of her injuries were to be believed, then Shigure got fucked up pretty badly during the mission. Though her wounds would eventually heal, that still could not have been a pleasant experience for her, especially since that was her first sortie too.

The American entered the building and continued up the steps until he reached his office. After he got back from Los Angeles, he decided to remodel his private office to make it more comfortable. The room was a lot smaller than the main office, but he also didn't have to share it with anyone if he didn't want to, so he might as well take full advantage of it. Initially the office had been pretty bare, but Drake was able to take a few things back with him from America in order to fix the place up. He had charged all the expenses to the Liberation Navy, which was really only possible because Fleet Admiral Wei was too lazy to check where the leftover funds for the Los Angeles defense were going.

Either way, that helped Drake out a lot, and now his private office was actually liveable. He installed a computer and a flat-screen television there, and he brought along an Xbox for good measure. He also added a fridge and a microwave just because he could, and he of course bought all the necessary office supplies that his desk in the main office had as well. In front of his desk and across from the wall-mounted television was something he actually found at the base itself: a kotatsu. Drake had always wanted one, and now that winter had come, it was the perfect time to use it. He still planned to do work at his desk in the main office most of the time, but this office was a great place if he ever needed some privacy or if he didn't want to disturb anyone else.

Currently, the main office was mostly empty, with only Nagato, Mutsu, and Ooyodo present. Fleet Admiral Miiro and Rear Admiral Genji had been called off to some meeting in Tokyo, and Drake guessed that they were being grilled hard on the disaster by Midway. That left him as the highest-ranking officer on the base, but since he was American, his authority only extended so far, and so Nagato was actually the de facto head of Tokyo Bay right now. The three ship girls in the main office were understandably extremely busy, and so Drake decided to leave them to their work and focus on his own in his private office. The atmosphere in the main office was also tense and slightly uncomfortable, so he was glad he had somewhere to get away to.

When he entered his office, he found Kaga, Shoukaku, Zuikaku, Bismarck, and Haruna waiting. Everyone in his fleet pretty much already knew the situation as it stood right now, but Drake had asked his flagships to report to his office to discuss it and the future plans of the fleet in further detail. He had actually said that everyone was free to come, which was why there were three extra ship girls present, but the majority of his fleet was tired from the sortie and long trip back or were busy visiting friends or family in the hospital.

"Admiral," Haruna immediately said when he arrived, "have there been any changes…?"

Drake shook his head. "Kongou and Hiei are still asleep in the hospital, but the mechanics and medics are pretty certain that they will be fine in the end."

Haruna nodded silently, but that information didn't seem to be much of a consolation. It seemed she felt guilty for coming back from a relatively easy sortie unharmed while two of her sisters were utterly wrecked by the Abyssals.

"And everyone else?" Kaga asked. "Nobody else is in danger of dying, correct?"

"Yeah, everyone will be fine eventually," Drake answered as he sat down by the kotatsu and fiddled with the remote for the television, trying to see if he could stream football games from America over some web apps.

"Sir," Bismarck began as the group of ship girls watched their admiral struggle with the gadget, "we are here to discuss the next sortie, are we not?"

"Yeah, hold on… This fucking thing…"

After a few more minutes, Drake finally got the picture to work, and playoff football began playing on his screen. "Finally. Jesus."

Ignoring the slight feeling of homesickness that the game made him feel, Drake turned back to the five girls, who were still standing by his desk.

"Technically, there is no 'next sortie' right now. INFCOM hasn't come up with any sort of strategy as of yet, so we'll just have to wait and see," Drake said, frowning as he watched his team turn the ball over on his new television screen. "Un-fucking-believable…"

"What is this shit?" Zuikaku asked, raising an eyebrow at the TV.

"American football. It's probably the most popular sport in the US, but it's not really played anywhere outside of there, so you've probably never heard about it."

"Oh? Why are they ramming each other?" Zuikaku questioned, the sport evidently having piqued her interest.

"The goal is to -"

"Admiral," Kaga interrupted, "perhaps it is best to postpone the explanation of the rules of American football for the time being?"

"Uh, right… " Drake sheepishly agreed. "Anyway, the reason I called you here was just to say what I just told you, basically. I know a lot of people at this base and in the naval community in general are pissed off and want to go after the Abyssals as soon as possible, but right now, all we can do is wait. However, there is one other thing I wanted to talk about, and that is that 'Bethlehem' thing."

Based on the look on the girls' faces, they clearly weren't familiar with what he was referring to, so Drake elaborated.

"As you know, Admiral Genji's fleet was sent to investigate Abyssal activity in that area of the Pacific, and unluckily for them, they found fourteen Princesses. However, those Princesses were only there because they were guarding this huge black tower that was rising out of the ocean called 'Bethlehem.' We don't know exactly what it is or what it does, but the few things we know for sure are that it has extremely good anti-air capabilities, its physical defenses are very strong, it is able to jam even the most advanced communications and radar, and the Abyssals are planning to use it as some sort of forward operating base."

"So it's so important that the Abyssals sent fourteen Princesses to guard it…" Kaga noted.

Drake nodded. "The Princesses have retreated inside the structure for now, but we still can't get close. We've tried sending unmanned drones to do surveillance, but they were all shot down."

"Have you tried bombing it with a nuclear weapon?" Bismarck asked.

Drake blinked. "Uh… No. Let's not go that far just yet. Right now, Bethlehem poses no significant threat to any human settlement due to its distance from them, and it has shown no significant offensive capabilities. I don't think we're going to be dropping a nuke on it anytime soon, if that will even destroy it in the first place."

"So basically we're just going to leave the Abyssals alone? After what they did to us?" Zuikaku demanded, frowning angrily.

"For now, yes," Drake slowly replied. "Honestly, what I'm most worried about is if the Abyssals use this swing in momentum to attack this base or some other country. We haven't picked up anything like that right now, but it would be the next logical step. It's what I would do if I were in their position."

"But this base doesn't seem like it has prepared any defensive measures," Shoukaku observed, a hint of alarm in her tone. "Everyone is still reeling from the defeat, and two of our admirals are not even at the base…"

Drake shrugged as he continued watching the game. "Like I said, nobody's detected any Abyssal movement anywhere near this base or any other ones. Unless the Abyssals have gained the ability to teleport, we should be able to detect them if they move into shallow waters, which they will need to do if they plan to attack a land-based installation."

"So then we _are_ just going to sit here," Bismarck summarized. "It seems to me that is what you are suggesting, Admiral."

"If you have a better idea, I'd like to hear it."

Bismarck frowned, growing frustrated. "Well, for one, I would not be sitting here like a coward. You must take the fight to them, or they will crush you before you can even mobilize your forces. Hit this 'Bethlehem' with all our power, including every bomb and plane that our countries have. Destruction must be answered with destruction, or else the enemy will continue to pound you into the ground until you are nothing but dust."

Drake yawned, his eyes never leaving the television. "Was that a joke, or a serious answer?"

Before Bismarck could reply to Drake's unnecessary provocation and get caught up in another fight with her admiral, Kaga intervened.

"A plan like that isn't possible right now, even if we wanted to do it," the carrier simply said. "You say we should launch a lightning-fast, all-out attack on the enemy, but we do not have the resources to pull that off. Ship girls are our best weapon against the Abyssals, but a third of this base's active roster has been put out of commission. On top of that, you are forgetting the logistical aspects pertaining to a full-scale mobilization spanning across multiple different countries and governments. To be frank, a full-powered attack and a fast attack are contradictory and cannot occur together, at least not at the moment."

The German frowned at that, but she kept silent as she knew she couldn't refute the Secretary Ship's arguments.

Kaga turned back to Drake. "But sir, I do think she has a point in questioning our current actions. Simply sitting around and recovering does not seem to be an efficient use of our time."

Drake rubbed his chin in thought. "Yeah, I guess. Well, actually, we're not just 'sitting around' like you girls keep saying. The first thing I plan to do is gather information on Genji's sortie, and what exactly went wrong. I want to know everything about Bethlehem and the Abyssal Princesses. Some of the girls from our fleet fought those Princesses, so once they wake up and have had some time to recover, I'm going to ask them about the enemy's abilities. I'll decide what to do next from there."

"And what about us, sir?" Haruna asked, her normally gentle demeanor overshadowed by a determination to properly deal with those who so severely injured her sisters. "What should we do? We are still able to sortie if necessary."

"You can continue your training," the admiral simply replied. "If those Abyssal Princesses are as strong as I think they are, then you're all going to need to get a lot stronger, and fast. Even if you're not being sent out to sortie, don't neglect your training."

"Fine. I shouldn't have expected anything else out of you," Bismarck scoffed as she stalked out of the office, her blonde locks swaying behind her.

Drake merely shook his head as she left. "The rest of you can go too, if you want. I really don't have anything else to say for now."

Kaga and Shoukaku saluted and left the office, but Zuikaku lingered behind.

"Zuikaku?" Shoukaku asked, glancing at her sister.

"Oh, uh, I just had something else I wanted to say," Zuikaku told her. "It's nothing important. You can go on ahead."

Shoukaku remembered saying something similar to Zuikaku a while ago when she wanted to talk to the admiral alone, so she nodded and left Zuikaku with Drake. After she left, Zuikaku sat down at the kotatsu as well.

Drake gave her a curious glance.

"Are you that interested in the game?" he joked.

"What? No," the former Fifth Division carrier replied. "I, uh, just wanted to talk to you about something."

"Oh? Are you going to confess your love to me?"

"What?!" Zuikaku scowled even as she blushed furiously. "You think you're funny, don't you!"

" _I_ might not be, but your reactions sure are," Drake replied with a smirk. "Anyway, what do you want?"

"... It's about the Airfield Princess," Zuikaku said after calming down. "I heard they saw her during the sortie."

Drake paused. "Yeah. And?"

"I want you to let me fight her next time," Zuikaku demanded passionately, drawing closer to Drake. "Put me in charge of the main attack."

The American shifted his gaze from the television to Zuikaku. "Why should I?"

Zuikaku faltered for a bit, but quickly regained her composure. "You've seen me in training, and during actual sorties. You don't think I'm up to it?"

"It's not that. I just don't see any reason why I would put you in charge of the attack over Kaga or Shoukaku."

"I want to be the one to defeat her," Zuikaku insisted. "I served as the Flagship of the First Carrier Division after Akagi and Kaga sank, so it's not as if I have no experience. I know I can do it!"

Drake shook his head. "First of all, we don't even know if our fleet will fight the Airfield Princess again. Even if we do, we don't know what the circumstances will be, so what you're asking for isn't even concrete."

"But in case we do find her again, you have to let me fight her!" the carrier said again, her pale green eyes burning with feeling. "I just… I just feel like I haven't been able to live up to my full potential so far…"

Drake twirled a lock of his black hair around his finger as he gave Zuikaku a hard glance before turning back to the football game. Zuikaku hadn't been difficult to figure out ever since Drake met her, and now was no different. It was clear that she felt like she was being overshadowed by Shoukaku and Kaga, something that understandably infuriated her. Her desire to fight the Airfield Princess was an effort to show that she wasn't to be made light of, and that she could do everything her sister and Kaga could do.

"How about this," Drake started, "instead of begging me to let you fight the Airfield Princess one-on-one or whatever because you think it will make you look cool, you just follow orders like everyone else?"

Zuikaku looked offended. "I'm not fighting her because I want to 'look cool!'"

"That's basically what you're saying, though," Drake replied. "Think about this, Zuikaku: to truly be a great warship, would it be better to fight because you want to satisfy your own ego, or would it be better to work with the rest of your fleetmates and defeat the enemy strategically in a way that minimizes losses? Which method do you think your sister or Kaga would choose?"

Zuikaku's expression deflated as she realized her mistake. "I… I didn't mean it like that…"

"I know what you meant. Zuikaku, you are doing fine even the way you are right now. There's no reason why you have to keep acting like you have something to make up for, okay? You're never going to feel like you've accomplished anything if your entire sense of self-worth is just based on you comparing yourself to others."

"But…"

Drake turned to her. "If we ever see the Airfield Princess again, I'm going to need you. But you're going to be most useful if you're fighting to bring victory for your fleet instead of fighting only for yourself. Understand?"

With a sense of purpose rekindled in her, Zuikaku nodded. "Yes, sir!"

A brief moment of silence followed as they locked gazes, but it was quickly interrupted by a loud cheer from the television. Drake turned his eyes back to the TV and saw that his team had just scored.

"All right, finally," he said with an approving nod.

"Huh? What just happened?" Zuikaku asked, also looking at the screen.

"The team from my city just scored," Drake told her.

"Oh? Then why are they now kicking the ball into that giant yellow fork?"

"That? Well, you see…"

* * *

Shigure smiled reassuringly at her sister, Yamakaze, who sat at her bedside. The green-haired destroyer nervously clutched the hem of her skirt, refusing to meet Shigure's eyes.

"So, um, how was training today?" Shigure started off unsurely. Yamakaze was always very timid, even around her own sisters, so sometimes it was difficult to talk to her.

"Um… It was fine…" Yamakaze answered, still not meeting Shigure's gaze.

"How are the others?" Shigure continued.

"Yuudachi was being treated when I came, so I wasn't allowed to see her… Murasame still isn't awake… But Kawakaze is in the docks now, so I think she will be fine soon…"

"Oh, that's some good news, at least," Shigure said with another smile. "I think they might let me go to the docks soon too."

"Um, yeah, that's good…" Yamakaze agreed, smiling softly before lifting her turquoise eyes to meet Shigure's blue ones. "I… I'm sorry I couldn't be there to help you…"

Shigure shook her head. "That's all right. You had your own duties to fulfill, and there's no way you could have known what would happen anyway. If anything, you've done a good job so far in a fleet all on your own without any of your sisters there to help you. That's something you should be proud of, you know."

Yamakaze blushed as she looked down at the ground again. "Tha-"

"Oh, Yamakaze, you're here too?"

Admiral Drake stepped out from behind the curtain and in front of Shigure's bed. He smirked at Yamakaze's bashfulness as he patted her on the head, and the destroyer frowned and shrunk down in her seat.

 _Normally Yamakaze would run away if someone tried to touch her. She must be used to her admiral by now, I guess,_ Shigure thought.

"Good evening, sir," Shigure greeted, as she saluted.

Drake returned the salute. "I see you can use your arm now."

"Yes, most of the pain has subsided by now. I was just telling Yamakaze that they might move me to the docks soon."

"That's good to hear. Looks like you're the one who's healing the fastest in our fleet. Murasame still hasn't woken up yet, by the way, but I'm sure it's only a matter of time… Anyway, I need to talk to you about your last sortie."

Shigure felt slightly nervous at hearing that, but she quickly realized that her admiral probably just wanted to know what exactly had happened and about the enemy's abilities now that Shigure was feeling better.

"Oh, I sh-should go then," Yamakaze hurriedly said, standing up.

"You don't really have to. It's not like this is top secret information," Drake casually told her.

Now unsure of what she should do, Yamakaze fidgeted nervously in place, then slowly sat back down.

"So, you fought an Abyssal Princess, right?" Drake started off. "I only have a general understanding of what happened during sortie right now, but considering the fact that the injuries you sustained looked like they were caused by some sort of beast, I assume they had to have been inflicted by a Princess rather than a stray shell or bomb."

Flashbacks of the Destroyer Princess and the two snapping jaws at her heels ran through Shigure's mind, causing her to suppress a shudder. "... Yes… My sisters and I fought one of them called the 'Destroyer Princess.'"

"I see… So each Princess represents a different class of ship, or in some cases, an installation," Drake said, recalling the Battleship Princess and the Airfield Princess.

"Um, sir," Shigure piped up, her curiosity getting the better of her, "are the Abyssal Princesses actually royalty? Why are they called 'Princesses'?"

"Originally, the moniker for the Princesses was something that had been intercepted from an Abyssal transmission very early on in the war, but the decoders didn't know exactly what the term meant and if it really did refer literally to a 'princess,' so calling these powerful Abyssals 'Princesses' was basically just an educated guess," Drake answered. "However, if the Abyssal you're talking about referred to herself as a 'Princess,' then it seems like the decoders got it right… But yeah, that's about all we know, so I can't really answer your question. I don't think it matters that much in the end, though."

"Ah…"

"Anyway, about that Destroyer Princess. I assume she was pretty strong?"

Shigure nodded as her blue eyes darkened. "Myself and three of my sisters could barely scratch her… She took full salvos from our guns multiple times, but she didn't appear to be damaged at all."

"Hm… Did any of the battleships fire at her? Or was it just you destroyers who fought her?"

"I can't speak for the time after I was unconscious, but from what I remember, it was just us four."

Drake had a thoughtful look in his eyes. "So we know that the Destroyer Princess definitely has armor that outclasses that of destroyer ship girls, but we don't know exactly how much stronger it is… Though the Airfield Princess was damaged by our planes, so Princess armor can't be _that_ powerful. What about her guns?"

"I didn't personally experience them, but they were able to take out Murasame in one hit," Shigure said with a downcast expression.

"So one hit from the Destroyer Princess was able to put Murasame in that state?" Drake repeated. "Maybe we shouldn't fight her with destroyers next time…"

Shigure then remembered a crucial aspect about the Princess. "Actually, I don't know if that is a good idea, sir. That Destroyer Princess was extremely fast, so much so that I don't think even fast battleships will be able to keep pace with her. She was a lot faster than us, but… I think the destroyers are the only ones who can even hope to match her speeds."

"Yeah, that would be a problem if she could outspeed our bigger ships and then just keep hitting them while they couldn't touch her," Drake conceded. "So then we need fast ships… Amatsukaze is probably the fastest one I know…"

"What about Shimakaze from the Sasebo Base?" Shigure suggested, the special destroyer's speed being famous throughout both bases.

"Shimakaze? Oh, right, I remember Amatsukaze mentioning her. Or maybe the 'Kaze' we need to fight the Destroyer Princess is right here: Yamakaze!"

"M-me?!" Yamakaze cried out in alarm, a panicked expression coloring her face.

"Calm down, it's a joke," Drake quickly said, suppressing a laugh as he patted her on the head again.

"It's not funny…" Yamakaze replied softly, pouting as she tried to regain her composure.

"So we'll probably bring those two along," Drake continued, referring to Amatsukaze and Shimakaze. "Shigure, we might need you and your sisters again since you've fought her before. I'll obviously help you train between now and then, but be prepared to fight her again."

Shigure tried to respond with a confident 'Yes, sir!', but her breath caught in her throat as she suddenly recalled the feeling of having her bones ground to splinters and her flesh torn apart between the Abyssal's teeth. She tried to force it out of her mind, but this time, it didn't work. A cold sweat broke out on her skin, and the icy seed of fear and panic took root in her stomach as the Destroyer Princess' image came to mind. The disappointed, sorrowful faces of her sisters and the Nishimura Fleet from her dream also flooded her brain.

 _Everyone is going to die again._

"Shigure? Are you all right?"

Drake's voice snapped the blue-eyed destroyer out of her thoughts, and she jerked her head upwards to see her admiral and Yamakaze leaning over her bed, both of them wearing varying expressions of worry.

"Oh… I'm sorry…" Shigure said, her voice coming out in a weak whisper.

Drake's frown deepened as he gently patted Shigure on the shoulder. "You should rest some more. Don't worry about the war for now, all right? I'll take care of everything until you're out of the docks."

Shigure's face fell as she mentally berated herself for allowing such a weak side of her to be shown to her admiral and her youngest sister. "... Yes, sir."

The destroyer laid down in her bed, turning her body to face the window. She stared out at the sky, wishing her own thoughts could be as free and empty as the view. She heard Admiral Drake say something to Yamakaze, and then the two of them left, probably intending to leave her alone so that she could rest.

Shigure tried to close her eyes, but when she did, the darkness that she saw gripped her and threatened to drag her into the abyss. So she kept them open, those clear blue orbs reflecting the identical crisp color of the sky outside.


	16. Archipelago I

Two weeks had passed since the disaster by Midway Atoll. Thankfully, the Abyssals had not made any moves during this time period, and so the Tokyo Bay Base was allowed to rest and recover. All the ship girls who had been injured during the sortie were now more or less healed, and though they still experienced some lingering pains, they were able to participate in training and return to their normal duties.

As for the admirals, things had gone back to normal for them as well. Fleet Admiral Miiro and Rear Admiral Genji had experienced a tongue lashing at Tokyo when they were called in, but apparently they weren't punished too harshly since both of them returned to the base as usual, with the only difference being that Genji was even more grumpy than he normally was. Drake himself had not received any new orders, and things were still going by the 'wait-and-see' basis. With the jarring revelation of the Abyssals' true strength, International Fleet Command was busy trying to come up with possible counters, but as of yet, they had no successes to speak of. The current plan was simply to lay low and wait for the Abyssals to make a move and then react to that. INFCOM decided that it was easier to play defense instead of offense.

Drake contemplated all this as he stared out the window from where he sat at his desk in the main office. It was now relatively late into winter, and the base was covered in a rare soft blanket of white snow. The date was a Saturday, and so Drake usually had the day off, but this morning he had received an angry message from some German at INFCOM demanding a progress report on Bismarck. To be exact, the message had actually been sent to Fleet Admiral Boston four days ago, but he had apparently forgot to send it to Drake in time, and so Drake instead got it this morning and had so scramble to finish it before the Germans got even more pissed off at him.

 _These fucking fleet admirals…_ he thought bitterly as he typed the report at his desk, using Kaga's notes on the fleet training sessions as a reference. _Though I guess I wouldn't even have Bismarck in the first place if it weren't for Boston, so maybe he deserves some credit…_

Drake yawned as he stretched for a bit, then turned back to the report. He wasn't really sure what he was supposed to say other than, "Yeah, she's performing just as expected of the great German battleship," and he guessed that this 'progress report' was just an excuse to make his life harder because he stole Bismarck away from the Kriegsmarine.

" _Bismarck is a great battleship,"_ he typed, " _I love her shining blonde hair and her long legs, and her beautiful and harsh gaze makes me hard when she turns it on me."_

He smirked as he mentally chuckled at his own dumb humor. _I wonder what they would do if I sent this in, ha!_

Glancing out the window again, Drake decided that he needed a break if he was coming up with shit like this. He stood up, grabbed his long black coat and gloves, and prepared to head outside for a brief walk, but before he fully left his desk, he quickly turned back around and deleted the sentences on his computer.

 _Yeah, don't want anyone seeing that, even if it is a joke._

When he finally made it outside, the crisp winter air lightly slapped him in the face, and he inhaled the sharp scent of snow. Snow was probably his favorite form of weather, so in all honesty, coming into work today wasn't that bad. If he hadn't, then he most likely would have just spent the entire day lazing around inside. Drake noticed that the streets of the naval base were actually busier than he thought they would be, as there were many ship girls who were walking around in winter clothing, mesmerized by the sight of snow. He supposed it was understandable, because even if they had seen snow before as warships, they couldn't really interact with it.

Not too far from the entrance of the Administrative Building was a group of destroyers and light cruisers playing around in the snow, most of whom were actually from Drake's fleet. He saw Amatsukaze and Fubuki trying to make what appeared to be an igloo of sorts, and Murasame and Sendai were lined up across from each other, building a wall in front of themselves as they simultaneously stockpiled snowballs. There were a few other destroyers roughhousing in the snow who weren't from Drake's fleet, but if he recalled correctly, they looked to be from the Shiratsuyu class. Yamakaze was also with her sisters, though she was occupied building a snowman off to the side.

Sendai, Yamakaze, and Murasame, being the closest to the main road, glanced up as Drake passed by, and the rear admiral gave them a short wave as he strolled along.

"Admiral!" Sendai shouted. "Do you want to play with us?"

"I think I'll pass, thanks," Drake replied. As a grown man, he thought it would be weird to play in the snow with a group of young girls, even if they were all technically way older than he was.

"Oh? You don't like the snow, sir?" Murasame asked.

"Uh, no, it's not that…"

"Ah, so you're scared," Sendai surmised with a nod. "Afraid to get trashed in snowball fight by a couple of girls, huh?"

"Oh, please. Don't underestimate me," Drake said, taking her bait.

Murasame chuckled. "I hope you're not one of those men who are all talk and no action, Admiral…"

Drake frowned. "As much as I'd love to prove you wrong, I'm not a kid anymore. I can't be getting into -"

His sentence was interrupted as a snowball hit him squarely in the chest, dusting his coat with white flakes. He turned in shock to Sendai, who quickly yelped and ducked under her wall after throwing the snowball.

"Okay… You've done it now," he stated as he crouched and formed a snowball. "Unfortunately for you, I was the ace pitcher for my high school's baseball team. Prepare yourselves!"

The American maneuvered so that he could get Sendai in his line of sight even as she hid behind her wall. He then went into a pitching windup and threw the snowball with all the force he could muster, mentally thanking himself for stretching out of boredom beforehand in the office. Sendai dove straight into her own wall as she tried to avoid the incoming projectile, but the fast snowball managed to hit her right in the ass anyway, causing her to cry out in surprise.

"Heh, exactly. How do you like that, Send -"

Drake was interrupted once again as another snowball hit him, this time in the back of the head. Luckily it wasn't thrown very hard, but it caused him to jump and glare at the offender nonetheless.

"Sorry, I was aiming for your back," Murasame apologized sheepishly.

"Apology not accepted. You're next!"

Drake threw a blazing snowball at the twintailed destroyer, and her eyes widened as she ducked behind her wall. The snowball smashed against the relatively flimsy structure, almost knocking it over. Murasame gingerly peeked her head out from above her snow wall.

"You're not holding back, are you…"

"Nope. Your armor can take it, though," Drake replied before sidestepping a third snowball. "Not this time!"

Drake prepared another snowball as he aimed to nail Sendai again, but apparently the light cruiser decided that a moving target was harder to hit than a stationary one, and she began running across the snowy field.

"Fool! Did you really think you could run?!"

The rear admiral took aim, tracking the ship girl with his trained eyes. He went into his windup again and fired, though he made sure to lead his shot this time since Sendai was on the run. However, he realized too late that Sendai was running towards Yamakaze, and that he had thrown his snowball straight at the green-haired destroyer. Drake watched with a grimace as his snowball flew right into the back of Yamakaze's head, bursting open and flinging snow onto her lustrous locks. Yamakaze shrieked in surprise and held the back of her head in pain. She turned around to see who threw it, and her turquoise eyes widened as they met with Drake's brown ones.

"Admiral… Why…" she muttered, tears starting to form in her eyes.

 _Shit!_ Drake thought, but before he could apologize or say it was a mistake, Sendai took this opportunity to get her revenge, smacking him in the face with a well-placed shot. Though the ship girls weren't throwing nearly as hard as they could, the unexpectedness of the hit sent him to the ground, the snowball momentarily blinding him as it broke open across his face.

Drake sighed as he lay on the ground and wiped the snow from his eyes. _I guess I deserved that one…_

* * *

"I want to marry the Admiral!" Sendai yelled into Drake's ear as she draped herself over the back of his chair where he sat. "He's so rich!"

"Er, no. Buying the three of you drinks does not mean I'm rich," Drake corrected with an annoyed frown.

Drake, Sendai, Murasame, and Yamakaze were currently at the Starbucks located in the lobby of the Administrative Building, sitting at one of the counters by the window and facing the snow outside. As an apology for pegging her with a snowball, Drake offered to buy Yamakaze a warm drink, but since Sendai and Murasame were nearby, they of course wanted to come as well. Drake didn't really mind, especially since Yamakaze looked like she was about to refuse until her sister also asked to come, so now the four of them sat in the mostly-empty lobby, slowly sipping their drinks with the winter scenery as a side dish.

"Oh, you're not?" Sendai replied disappointedly.

"No. Now please get off me."

"I'm sure he's richer than us, at least," Murasame said. "We ship girls don't really make any money…"

"Yeah, but that would mean that you're just poor, not that I'm rich," Drake countered. While it was true that rear admirals in the US Liberation Navy made decent money nowadays, it wasn't enough for him to really feel like he was rich.

"Hey, you control our salaries, don't you?" Sendai pointed out. "Give us more!"

Drake shook his head. "INFCOM gives me a certain amount of money to be used for a variety of things, only one of which is the salaries of the ship girls. Part of my job and the job of the secretary ship is to figure out how best to distribute that money, so I can't just 'give you more' without taking away funding for something else."

"Eeeehhh? Are you saying our salaries aren't important?" Sendai demanded to know with a pout.

"Uh, maybe…" Drake said unsurely. "You girls already have your housing and everything paid for you, so the only thing you really use your salaries for is food, right? The amount you're given should be enough."

"But what if I wanted to buy some new nail polish? Or a shirt or something?" Murasame asked.

"Yeah! Or a cool battle knife!" Sendai added.

"You'll have to save up, then," Drake simply responded with a smirk. "Any further complaints should be directed to Kaga, okay?"

"But she won't caaaaare!" Sendai whined, grabbing Drake's shoulders.

"That's the point," the admiral said, slowly pushing Sendai away.

Sendai pouted again, then turned to Yamakaze. "Hey! Yamakaze! What do you think about this?"

Yamakaze jumped slightly as her name was called. "U-um… I…"

"Ah, never mind..." Sendai deflated and sat back down as she realized that the green-haired destroyer wouldn't be of any help.

"But actually, I did have a new idea about the salaries," Drake then said. "I was thinking of giving the MVP of each sortie a one-time bonus in her salary. Currently, there's no reward for being an outstanding performer, so I wanted to change that."

"Oh! Good idea, sir!" Sendai agreed. "So, who was the MVP last sortie? It was me, right?"

"Uh… I don't think so. Maybe Yahagi? She took down a Ru-class battleship and managed to hold off the Re-class by herself until reinforcements arrived."

"Eeeh?! It wasn't me? Then… What about the sortie before that? Are we going to count that one?"

Drake nodded. "Yeah. It wouldn't be fair to ignore the accomplishments of the ships in previous battles, so I'll probably retroactively give a bonus to them as well. But I would say that the MVPs for the first and second sorties were Haruna and Kaga, not you."

"What?! So I've been a failure this whole time!?" Sendai cried out.

"Not being the MVP doesn't automatically make you a failure…" Drake said, but he doubted the easily-excited light cruiser even heard him as she made her next announcement.

"Fine! Then Sendai will be the MVP of the next sortie! I guarantee it!" she proudly declared with a shout.

Thankfully the lobby was empty save for the receptionist and the few Starbucks employees, so not many people were there to witness the scene Sendai was making.

"My, my. Actions speak louder than words, Sendai," Murasame said in a teasing tone.

"Yeah, I know! We've just haven't had a night battle yet, so none of you have been able to witness my true strength!"

Just then, the doors to the Administrative Building opened, and Kiso, one of Drake's new light cruisers, entered. She headed over to where Drake and the three ship girls sat, a gray winter coat over her usual outfit and a confident smirk on her face.

"Finally, there you are! I've been looking all over for you!"

Drake looked at the three ship girls next to him before he realized Kiso was speaking to him. "Wait, are you talking to me?"

Kiso grinned. "Fool! Are there any other admirals present? I challenge you to a duel!"

The American blinked in confusion. "Uh… What?"

"Hmph. I can sense the fear in your tone," Kiso said, closing her eye and nodding with approval at herself. "I said, I challenge you to a duel for the position of Admiral! Prepare yourself!"

"... You want to be the admiral? Not the secretary ship?" Drake repeated, still unsure of what was going on.

"Yes!"

Drake briefly glanced at the three other ship girls. Murasame and Sendai were watching the whole ordeal with amusement, while Yamakaze merely shrunk down in her seat.

"You do realize I can't fight you? I'm not a ship girl. You'd win easily."

Kiso frowned. "Surely you jest. It have only been a part of your training sessions for a few days, but my body still aches from the intense regimen you put us through during fleet practice. Since you are the admiral, I assume this training must be child's play for you, correct?"

 _That's not how it works…_ Drake thought, but he knew that Kiso wouldn't give up so easily even if he told her that.

"The admiral doesn't fight like a ship girl does, and therefore I have no reason to accept your duel," he started. "The admiral's job mostly revolves around logistical things and grand strategy and tactics. So if you still want the job of the admiral, then you must defeat me the way an admiral would. How about war games?"

"Ah, I understand," Kiso replied, her confidence unshaken. "Very well, then. A war game it is."

"Okay… Well, we don't really have much to work with here, so this will have to do."

Drake grabbed a nearby napkin and pulled out a pen from his pocket which he took from his office, then started writing on the napkin. When he finished, he slid it over so that Kiso could see. Written on it were ten circles in total, with five of them lined up on one side of the napkin and the other five lined up across the napkin.

"We'll just use a relatively basic scenario," Drake told her. "These five circles are my fleet, and those five are yours. Assume we each have three destroyers, one battleship, and one aircraft carrier. I'll let you have the first move. What do you do?"

Kiso furrowed her brow in concentration as if she thought this was some sort of trick question. "Hm… I charge ahead, of course! I will send out my destroyers and battleship as the vanguard, and the carrier will provide air support with its entire airstrike."

"All right… What's your formation?"

Kiso blinked, not expecting to have to give that much detail. "Uh… I'll put the destroyers in front of the battleship like a barrier. The carrier will be all the way in the back, I suppose."

"Okay, then I'll leave my destroyers where they are for now, and move my carrier and battleship like this," Drake said as he drew arrows on the napkin. "My carrier will flank you from the left, and my battleship from the right. Now what do you do? You can send your airstrike to intercept my battleship, but that will leave your entire fleet open to air attack from my carrier. Or you could send your airstrike to attack my carrier, but then you'll be flanked by my battleship. Also, no matter what choice you choose, I'll send my destroyers to attack your front once the battle starts since they're fast and can get there quickly."

"Uh…" Kiso stared at the napkin, trying to figure something out.

"Well? Hurry up. The enemy won't give you the time you need to think."

"I'll attack your battleship!" Kiso finally blurted out. "Send my airstrike there!"

"Okay, so now you've sunk my battleship. But guess what? While you were doing that, my carrier launched its airforce and destroyed your entire defenseless fleet. You lost."

"N-no I didn't!" the light cruiser immediately denied. "This is rigged!"

"Oh? Tell me what was wrong in what I said."

Kiso opened her mouth to speak, but slowly closed it as she realized she had no argument.

"Eh? Is that it?" Sendai asked with a frown. "Great job, Kiso. You lost your entire fleet within minutes."

"How disappointing," Murasame agreed with a shake of her head, playing along with Sendai's teasing.

"W-wait, this can't be right!" Kiso continued to argue.

Drake sighed. "Why did you send your entire airstrike after my battleship? You could have split it so that the bombers went for my battleship while your fighters hung back so you could then take out my battleship and then also defend your fleet from my carrier's airstrike."

Kiso blinked in surprise. "But… But you told me I could only send my entire airstrike!"

"When did I say that? I gave you two options, yes, but those weren't the only options you had. Are you unable to think for yourself? If you can't even do that and just take whatever's handed to you by the enemy, then you're not deserving of the position of admiral."

The Kuma-class light cruiser sat down at the counter, a deep frown on her face. "I…"

"Also, just so you know, I never took you seriously from the very start," Drake said. "My own strategy was actually pretty retarded if you think about it, but I knew that you still wouldn't be able to overcome it, especially if I manipulated you. That's another important aspect of strategy: always know your enemy."

"Fine, Admiral. I accept this defeat," Kiso finally said, standing up. "But don't think that I'll forget this humiliation!"

"What humiliation?" Drake asked. "You're not the admiral, and you never will be. You're not the secretary ship either, so there's no reason for you to consider losing at strategy to be a 'humiliation.' As a ship girl, your primary purpose is to fight, and in the few days that I've known you, I think you've done a fine job. Despite being injured, you were able to get through that harsh training without complaining. That's impressive for someone who just came off such a bitter defeat on her first sortie."

"W-well, of course!" Kiso replied, blushing slightly. "That defeat was simply a minor bump in my road to ultimate victory! I would never sulk over something like that."

"But you _will_ sulk over being beaten by your admiral in a war games session?" Drake countered. "That doesn't make sense to me. There's no reason to consider this loss as anything significant, so just continue to keep up the good work. I'll be counting on you on the next sortie."

Kiso grinned and shot Drake a confident salute. "All right! Leave it to me, sir!"

Drake nodded to the light cruiser as she left, then turned back to his drink and gave a sigh of relief. "Jesus…"

"You handled that surprisingly well, sir," Sendai observed. "Kiso sure is a handful, huh?"

"Look who's talking," Drake shot back, though Sendai did have a point. Perhaps he should have paid more attention to which light cruisers would be in his third fleet instead of just leaving it up to Shiranui.

The rear admiral took his phone out of his pocket in order to check the time, then frowned. As usual, he had wasted far too much time procrastinating, and his report wasn't even close to complete yet. He stood up from his seat and tossed his mostly-empty cup into a nearby trash can.

"Well, I've got work to do, so I'm heading upstairs," he said to the three ship girls. "See ya."

"Wait, where're you going?" Sendai asked. "I thought we were going to night battle tonight?"

"Uh… What?" Drake asked. There were a couple ways he could take that sentence.

"You know, another snowball fight?!"

"No way. You already beat me once. Aren't you satisfied with that?"

"Agh! You're no fun, Admiral!" she whined.

"Sendai…" Murasame shot the light cruiser a disapproving glance, then smiled at Drake. "Thank you for buying us drinks, sir."

Yamakaze nodded from behind her sister. "Th… Th…"

"You're very welcome," Drake replied, patting both of them on the head. "All right then, I've -"

Drake then saw Nagato and Kaga standing in the lobby of the building, and he raised an eyebrow as he noticed them looking at him. Since he was going upstairs anyway, he walked over to where they were standing.

"Sir," Nagato briefly saluted. She was dressed in long black winter coat similar to Drake's own, her beautiful red eyes contrasting with her dark outfit. "There is something we must discuss with you, if you don't mind."

Drake glanced at Kaga, who was also had a coat on, though hers was dark blue in color. She wore her usual blank expression.

"Sure, go ahead, I guess."

Nagato nodded. "Yesterday, an Abyssal fleet was spotted off the coast of Hachijo-jima in the Izu Archipelago. Japan's air reconnaissance couldn't get close enough to determine the exact composition of the fleet, but it doesn't appear to be a particularly large one. However, with Hachijo-jima being inhabited and so close to the mainland, the government is understandably worried. International Fleet Command has ordered the Tokyo Bay Base to deal with them since we are closest."

Drake crossed his arms as he took in the information. This was the first he was hearing of this. "... What if it's the fleet of fourteen Princesses?"

"That's unlikely. Satellite imagery and long-range radar scans have indicated a handful of Abyssals sailing around the vicinity of Bethlehem, so we're assuming that those few signatures belong to the Princesses, and therefore, they wouldn't be on this sortie," Nagato explained. "Though again, we couldn't get close enough to confirm this, so we are not one-hundred percent sure. It's possible that there may be a Princess on this sortie, but it's unlikely that they sent an entire fleet, especially when Bethlehem is still relatively vulnerable. But on the small chance that the enemy fleet is composed of more than two Princesses, Fleet Command has authorized you to retreat and give up the island."

"I see… So is my fleet going to sortie for this mission, then?"

"Yes, sir. All three of your fleets are cleared to sortie as soon as you are ready."

"What about the Fleet Admiral and Admiral Genji?" Drake asked. "Were they already informed of this? Are they not going?"

"Ah, those two are in Sapporo at the moment and probably won't be back for a few more days," Nagato informed him.

"Sapporo? What are they doing up there?"

"Apparently the Empress is holding a winter ball there, so they had to go whether they liked it or not," the black-haired battleship answered.

"Oh, a ball? How come I wasn't invited?"

"U-um… Perhaps your invitation was lost in the mail…?" Nagato feebly tried to provide.

Drake smirked. "It was a joke. Anyway, since they won't be here, I guess I'm all by myself, huh?"

"You have your three fleets, sir," Kaga said, taking his statement a little too literally.

"Of course." He turned back to Nagato. "So then can we leave at any time? I assume we should deal with this sooner rather than later."

Nagato nodded. "As soon as you give the word, I can order the crew of the _Espiritu Santo_ to begin preparations for departure. I believe you will be able to leave by nightfall at the earliest."

"All right, then you do that. I'll head out tonight."

"Understood. I have already explained most of the details to Kaga, so she can inform you of them whenever it is most convenient for you, though there aren't many to begin with. I will also provide you with a map of the surrounding ocean before you depart."

"Okay, thanks."

Nagato then left, and Drake turned back to the area of the lobby where the Starbucks was, Kaga following him. Murasame, Yamakaze, and Sendai were still there, evidently having stayed behind so they could eavesdrop on Drake's conversation.

"Change of plans," he started as he addressed them, "we're sortieing tonight."

"Yes! Finally, a night battle!" Sendai cheered.

"The battle itself will probably be in the early morning, actually," Drake said, immediately crushing her enthusiasm. "But do be prepared to leave tonight. Also, I need the three of you to find the rest of the fleet and tell them that there's a sortie tonight."

* * *

The starry winter night sky greeted Bismarck as she stepped out onto the deck of the _Espiritu Santo_. Drake and Kaga were by the bow, and the two were talking about something as Drake pointed to various spots on a piece of paper he held. They turned their heads as they noticed Bismarck approach.

"Bismarck? You're not asleep?" Drake asked.

She shook her head. "I slept in today, so I am not tired. Are you discussing plans for the battle tomorrow?"

"Yeah, though there isn't really much to talk about right now since we don't know the enemy formation. We're mostly just looking at the map."

Drake handed the map to Bismarck, who looked over it with furrowed eyebrows. "It's quite a small island. Are we to defend it?"

"We're supposed to do enough damage to the Abyssal fleet so that they leave the Izu Islands," Drake said. "Though if there's a Princess in that fleet, it's going to be easier said than done…"

Bismarck's blue eyes grew hard. "Is that a likely possibility?"

The admiral shrugged. "I'm not one-hundred percent sure, but yeah, it could happen. If the Abyssals could gain a stronghold this close to Tokyo, they'd be in a very good position. I'm not sure how long they could hold the island if they took it, though… But either way, it wouldn't surprise me if they sent one considering how successful the Princesses proved to be in that last sortie."

"I see. So what are we going to do if we do encounter one?"

"I wonder," Drake replied, smirking as he turned to face the water.

"Do not worry. We will have a plan by then," Kaga told Bismarck, filling in for Drake's non-answer.

The door to the deck opened again, and another figure stepped out into the cold sea air. This time it was Shigure, one of the destroyers from Drake's new fleet. Her injuries had healed enough for her and the rest of her fleet to join the sortie, though Drake still placed them all on reserve just to be safe. However, he was still prepared to use them if necessary, and if there actually was a Princess in the enemy fleet, it would certainly be necessary.

"U-um, I'm sorry, am I interrupting?" Shigure asked, evidently surprised to see them gathered on the deck.

"No, we're not really doing anything important," Drake said. "Did you need something?"

"Oh, uh, no, I just couldn't sleep, so I thought I'd get some air," Shigure answered a bit uncertainly. "I can go back inside if…"

"It's fine," Drake assured her. "You can stay here for a while, but make sure to try and get some rest later, okay? You might have to be up early tomorrow."

Shigure nodded, but then jumped in fright as the door behind her slammed open again, revealing an IJN sailor.

"Admiral Drake! An urgent message has arrived!" he yelled in Japanese, holding up a few sheets of paper and waving them frantically before hurrying over to Drake.

Drake took the papers and flipped through them, surveying their contents. He noticed Bismarck and Kaga leaning over curiously, and even Shigure was drawn in by the arrival of the papers, though she was too short to look at them without being conspicuous.

"The enemy formation…?" he asked. It was actually surprising how close the UAV had managed to get, as the shapes of the Abyssals were clearly visible even in the dark.

"Yes, sir," the sailor confirmed. "We just received the pictures now. They seem to be hanging around Hachijo-jima, but haven't attacked yet."

Drake continued to study the pictures. "Seems like a relatively small fleet… Some Na-class destroyers, a few Tsu-class light cruisers, two Ne-class heavy cruisers, two Wo-classes, a Ru-class, and another Re-class… Small but powerful, I guess."

The rear admiral wore a very uncomfortable look as he glanced at the images, something that everyone seemed to be aware of and definitely didn't make them feel any better about the upcoming sortie.

"We will crush them all the same," Kaga said tonelessly, though she was obviously attempting to reassure Drake.

"Yeah… What about the Princess, though?" Drake asked, confused. "Did they not send one again?"

Another sailor then rushed out onto the deck, but this time, he was holding a handheld radio. "Admiral! Incoming transmission!"

"From who?" Drake asked as he was handed the radio. "... Hello?"

The other side was silent for a bit before a raspy feminine voice spoke up.

" _Ah… Hello?"_

She spoke in Japanese, so Drake switched back to that. "Hello? Who is this?"

" _..."_

"Hello…?" Drake asked again.

" _Ahaha… Hello? I see we can hear each other."_

"Yes. Who is this?"

" _Ah, excuse my rudeness. This is the Battleship Princess speaking."_

Piercing red eyes and a bloodstained smile flashed through Drake's mind, and he froze momentarily, forgetting where he was. However, he quickly snapped back to reality as he felt Kaga's breath by his neck as she drew closer to him and the radio.

"... What do you want?" he managed, barely trusting himself to speak coherently.

" _I introduced myself, now I expect you to do the same,"_ she simply said, ignoring his question.

Drake briefly glanced at the two sailors and the ship girls, but they just looked back with clueless expressions. Drake himself also didn't know what the protocol was in a situation like this, so he just decided to tell the truth.

"This is Rear Admiral Richard Maximilian Drake of the United States Liberation Navy."

" _... Oh? An American?"_ the Abyssal replied in English, a hint of surprise in her tone. " _I thought this was the Japanese fleet?"_

"It is, but the commander is American," Drake answered, also now speaking in English. "Again, what do you want? Why are you contacting us?"

" _I was curious, I suppose. After your last sortie ended so badly, I wondered whether you would be out here again after all…"_

"I wasn't in charge of that sortie. I was in Los Angeles at the time, killing some of your friends," Drake responded coldly, regaining his confidence as he realized that the Princess wasn't anywhere close to them at the moment.

" _You mean the small distraction fleet we sent? Congratulations! You defeated a force that was never meant to win in the first place. Ahaha!"_

Drake frowned angrily. "Don't get so cocky. I'll destroy your fleet this time as well."

" _... Even when facing a Princess, you can still make such claims? Did you learn nothing from your base's last sortie?"_

"My fleet almost sunk your Airfield Princess before, so yeah, I'm not just making stuff up," Drake countered. "Or did you already forget that?"

" _Ah… So you were the commander on that sortie as well,"_ the Battleship Princess realized, her tone growing more serious. " _Well, then I suppose we will see how you do this time."_

"Yes. Will I have the pleasure of facing you this time? I didn't see you in the pictures our UAV took. In fact, I didn't see any Princesses…"

" _Hmm… No, I unfortunately will not be fighting, but I_ will _be commanding our forces. As for the Princess… She is there, Admiral Drake. Not all ships swim on the surface, do they?"_

"... A submarine."

" _Yes, so prepare accordingly, if you can. I look forward to seeing who survives."_

With that, the transmission cut off, leaving only the sound of static on the radio. Drake handed it back to the sailor. The IJN sailors and the ship girls all wore looks of worried uncertainty, so Drake turned to them.

"They only sent one Princess, which was a fatal mistake. We will be victorious," he stated confidently, his fear replaced by a burning resentment of the Battleship Princess' arrogance.

 _Tangier… It was her fleet that caused all that. This time, I'm going to be one who's giving out the pain._


	17. Archipelago II

"This place is actually pretty nice," Drake observed as he walked through the streets of Hachijo-jima.

The island town had a peaceful, rural feel to it, and everywhere he walked, he could see dense island vegetation creeping over the stone walls lining the streets. It was early morning and the sky was overcast, but in Drake's opinion, that only made the scene more beautiful. The weather was surprisingly warm considering it had just snowed in Tokyo a couple days ago, and it actually felt a lot more like spring or summer than winter.

The _Espiritu Santo_ had docked on the side of the island farthest from the Abyssal advance, but instead of staying aboard the ship, Drake and his fleet had opted to disembark. There were a couple reasons why Drake had done this, one of which was that since the Japanese marines had been preparing for an Abyssal attack ever since the Bethlehem incident, they had managed to set up a decent command post on the island. Drake had been invited to command from the island if he felt so inclined, and the marines had told him that they even had advanced equipment such as high-quality cameras that overlook the ocean set up around the island, so if he worked from the island's command post, he would have better access to the ensuing battle. Another reason why Drake decided to command from the island was because it would raise morale among the marines and islanders if they saw the admiral on the island with them, which would be necessary given the type of strategy he had planned…

"Have all the islanders evacuated?" Shigure, who was walking with Drake, asked. When Drake had gone out to walk around, Shoukaku insisted that he take an escort with him, so he chose Shigure. Drake still remembered the look in her eye when he visited her in the hospital, so he wanted to know if she would be all right to sortie today. So far, she seemed fine.

"I don't see anyone on the streets…" the destroyer noted.

"Some of them have probably taken the ferry to Tokyo, but most of them are still here, I would guess," Drake answered. "People generally don't like to leave their homes, even in the event of an Abyssal attack. The presence of our fleet and the marines has also made them feel safer, so they're probably still on the island, just inside their houses."

Shigure frowned. "But isn't that dangerous? What if the Abyssals shell the island?"

Drake shrugged. "Let's hope that doesn't happen."

"Um, Commander… "

Drake and Shigure turned around to see Fubuki emerge from around the corner of one of the streets.

"Colonel Ichihara would like to see you," Fubuki told him.

Colonel Ichihara was in charge of the Imperial Marines on Hachijo-jima, so Drake nodded and followed Fubuki back to the headquarters with Shigure in tow. The HQ building was nothing more than a small, repurposed convention hall, though now it was stocked full of military equipment. When the trio arrived, a man with gray hair and glasses dressed in combat fatigues greeted them.

"Admiral Drake. It appears the enemy has started to move."

Drake nodded. "How long until they get here?"

"An hour at minimum," the colonel provided. "But… Are you sure about this strategy? We've set up everything according to your plans, but I must warn you again that this seems very dangerous."

"It's not as dangerous as a straight up fleet battle on the ocean would be, I can tell you that," Drake countered.

Colonel Ichihara sighed. "Admiral… I realize that you have been given command of this mission, but I must reiterate that I am against this. This plan may be safer for your ships, but it puts civilian lives at risk. If you do that, you are defeating the purpose of even having a military in the first place."

"You're wrong there, Colonel," Drake shook his head. "I did not develop this plan just so that I could preserve my ships; I developed it because it has the greatest chance of success. If our naval defense fails, this island is as good as lost, and then everyone here will die. So technically my plan puts the least lives at risk if you think of it that way."

Colonel Ichihara was clearly unconvinced, but he relented. "Fine. But you will take responsibility for whatever happens."

The colonel then walked off to discuss final preparations with some of his men in the command center, and Drake rubbed his chin as he sighed internally. _Doesn't look like we'll be getting along, I guess…_

The rear admiral then scanned the room, looking to see if any more of his ship girls were here. Since the Abyssals were only an hour away, it would probably be best to prepare for battle now.

"Fubuki, do you know where Kaga or Shoukaku is?" he asked, turning to the destroyer.

"Oh, uh, Shoukaku went over to the sushi shop next door. I'm not sure where Secretary Kaga is…"

Drake nodded. "All right. You two should get down to the beach and prepare to sortie. I'll try and find everyone else."

The two destroyers saluted and left towards the beach, and Drake headed out of the command center and walked into the small sushi shop next door. Because of the presence of hungry marines right beside it, the sushi place remained open and capitalized on this chance to make some extra money. Drake walked through the curtains of the entrance and saw two of his ship girls at the counter, busy stuffing themselves with sushi. Shoukaku stood by them, trying to convince them to leave.

"You two can't be eating right now…" she said, shooting disapproving looks at Zuikaku and Suzuya, who certainly looked like they were having a good time.

"Hey, c'mon, we didn't have any breakfast or dinner," Suzuya complained between mouthfuls.

"But there was fuel on the ship," Shoukaku said.

"This tastes way better than fuel!" Zuikaku parried. "Why don't you have some, Shoukaku? That might change your mind!"

The white-haired carrier opened her mouth to refuse, but her eyes seemed to tell a different story as they stuck themselves to the freshly-cut sushi. Drake decided that he should probably intervene at this point.

"The Abyssals will be here in an hour," he said, causing the three of them to jump in surprise at his voice. "You all should probably take your positions."

"Yes, sir!" Shoukaku quickly said, blushing slightly. She then turned to glare at Zuikaku and Suzuya. "I told you two!"

"Hey! Want some sushi, Admiral?" Suzuya asked with a grin, waving her chopstick at him.

"I'll pass, thanks. Hurry up and get in position," he said before turning around and stepping out of the shop so that no one could hear his stomach growl.

Drake spent the next few minutes searching around the streets by the command center to see if there were any other stragglers. He didn't find anyone, so he assumed they were all at the beach. He had told them beforehand to get in position around this time as well, so most of them probably followed orders and were already down there. Drake decided to head down himself for some final checks.

When he got down to the beach, he saw the marines' impressive array of shore guns lining the sands. He felt bad for the marines who would be manning those guns as they would be put in the most danger, but it was part of their job in the end. He doubted the shore guns would be much more effective than if the IJN had just sent coastal defense ships, but shore guns were definitely less expensive and required less manpower, so he supposed that was their reasoning. In fact, the IJN sent no naval vessels aside from the ship girls to defend Hachijo-jima, and Drake guessed it was because they didn't want to risk it given the recent destruction at Bethlehem. Either way, that meant that he and his ship girls were on their own for the most part.

A group of ship girls were standing around by the water, preparing to get into their specified combat positions. Drake also noticed that many of the marines were milling about by their shore guns, and most of them were watching the ship girls with great interest. The marines seemed to snap out of their daze when Drake approached, and they began entering their guns and readying for battle. A few of the ship girls also turned around when they saw their admiral arrive.

"Sir," Kaga saluted. "We were just about to get into position."

Drake gave her a nod. "All right. I was just checking to make sure there were no problems."

"None, sir. However, due to the weather today, air power will likely be limited as our planes will need to fly low and may be shot down more easily. That goes for the enemy as well, however."

"Yeah," Drake agreed, looking up at the gray, cloudy sky that was only broken in a couple spots by Hachijo-jima's two volcanoes. "But the enemy's trump card is their Submarine Princess this time, so that's what I'm more worried about."

"Our planes will be ineffective against her, so unfortunately I won't be of any use there," Kaga told him, her tone slightly bitter.

"If you can damage their surface fleet, that'll be good enough," Drake assured her. "Where are the destroyers?"

Kaga turned and called to the fleet's seven destroyers, who quickly hurried over. They all had their equipment on by now, and they saluted as they lined up before Drake and his secretary ship. Currently, the destroyers were the only ones equipped with ASW equipment, so they were really the first and last defense against the Submarine Princess. Even so, Drake wasn't very confident that they could defeat her. The four from the Seventh Fleet who had been utterly crushed at Bethlehem looked understandably nervous this time around, even the normally-stoic Shiranui. As for his regulars, Yamakaze looked like she was about to faint, and though Fubuki wore a determined look, Drake could see that she was trembling slightly. Amatsukaze was really the only one who didn't look apprehensive about the upcoming battle.

"You all look nervous," he noted with a smirk, voicing his thoughts out loud.

The destroyers glanced at each other but didn't answer him, which pretty much confirmed what he said.

"It's seven of you versus one Abyssal. There's no reason to be scared."

"Um, those Princesses aren't normal Abyssals, sir," Murasame piped up, having had firsthand experience with one. "They can sink us in one hit…"

"Then don't get hit," Drake simply replied. "There're seven targets she would have to choose from, so it's not as if you're just sitting ducks. The _Kido Butai_ nearly killed a Princess by themselves, and there were only four of them. You're telling me that seven of you can't do the same?"

"But… They're the _Kido Butai_ …" Fubuki said, briefly glancing at Kaga.

"And? Are you saying you're all just a bunch of no-name destroyers who're too weak to have any impact on the fight?"

Fubuki's gaze fell. "N-no…"

"Well, that's what it sounds like you're saying to me. All those hours you spent training, did they mean nothing? Did all of you just waste your time?"

"Hell no!" Amatsukaze shot back, startling the other destroyers. "I'll sink that bitch myself if that's what it takes to prove that I'm not weak!"

"You're enthusiastic…" Shiranui dryly noted.

"I agree with Amatsukaze," Shigure spoke up, albeit a bit shakily. "I refuse to be defeated again…"

Murasame smiled. "Well, if Shigure's going to say that, then I guess we have to too, right, Yamakaze?"

"Um, y-yes…"

"We won't lose, Commander!" Asashio declared as she perked up.

Fubuki nodded. "Yes. I'm sorry, sir. We will do our best no matter the circumstances!"

Drake nodded and patted her on the head. "That's more like it… But even though you've said all that, I'm hoping that you won't have to fight her at all. The reason why we're setting up this close to shore is to draw the Abyssal fleet in and neutralize the Submarine Princess since she can't fight in shallow water."

"What if they refuse to fight unless we come closer?" Kaga asked, still slightly unsure of the plan.

"Then we keep bombing them with airpower until their entire surface force is destroyed. If they try and turn this into a siege, they're going to lose, and they know it. We can resupply from Tokyo as much as we want, but they can't do the same."

"I see," Kaga replied. "I know I've already said this, sir, but if we draw the Abyssals in too far, they may be able to bomb the island."

"The command center is far enough inland that shells can't accurately reach it."

"And the civilians?"

Drake frowned. "I've already said what I had to say about that. The Abyssals will be too concentrated on fighting us to attack the island."

"... As you say, sir."

He could tell that Kaga, like Colonel Ichihara, didn't really approve of the plan, but both of them were rational enough to understand that it did have a good shot at victory, so they didn't complain too much. Either way, Drake was _really_ hoping that the Abyssals wouldn't do too much collateral damage.

 _This reminds me of Tangier,_ Drake thought uneasily, recalling how his strategy back then also resulted in severe civilian loss of life. At least this time he wasn't intentionally using the civilians as pawns, and any damage done to them would be mostly incidental, but it was still a fact that his strategy endangered their lives. Perhaps if they knew what Drake's plan had been beforehand, more of the civilians on Hachijo-jima would have chosen to evacuate to Tokyo.

 _Eh, can't be helped,_ he decided as he walked back up towards the command center. Thinking about things like that would only distract him during the battle. When he reached the command center, he found it bustling with activity as the marines prepared for the fight. There were three large screens set up in the room, one of them showing radar and sonar readings and the other two providing a view of the ocean where some of the ship girls were now taking their place. Also inside the command center were the engineers, medical personnel, and some barebones medical equipment normally aboard the _Espiritu Santo_. If any of the ship girls were to be severely injured, they could be returned to the command center and stabilized until they returned to the base.

"The enemy will arrive soon," Colonel Ichihara told Drake. He then turned to the other marines in the room. "Everyone! I would like to take a few minutes to go over the battle plan one last time so that everyone knows his or her task."

As the group gathered around a table which had a big map of the island and the surrounding waters, Colonel Ichihara nodded to Drake, who then began explaining the plan from the top.

"All right. As you know, this plan is designed to draw the Abyssals nearer to the shore to reduce the effectiveness of their Submarine Princess. In the event that the Princess does decide to attack anyway, she will be severely limited in her motion, and I have seven destroyers equipped with anti-submarine weaponry who will sink her. That is the most important part of the plan, but the rest of it is designed to take advantage of the island's natural geography."

Drake pointed to a few spots on the shoreline.

"I have stationed my aircraft carriers in these four locations along the shore. As you can see, they will be fighting from land, which is possible because they are ship girls and no longer just ships. They will be able to launch their planes from the shore, and since they will be hidden away in these select spots, it will be difficult for the enemy to accurately deduce their location, basically giving them immunity in this battle. The rest of the fleet, consisting of light cruisers, a heavy cruiser, and battleships, will be out on the water and will engage the enemy's surface force. I will be watching over the battle from here and changing the plan if necessary, so I would appreciate it if we could keep a UAV presence at all times."

The Japanese marines nodded as Drake finished re-explaining the plan, and then Colonel Ichihara clapped his hands together and ordered them back to work.

"Well, for better or worse, I suppose we're going with this plan," Ichihara said. "Let's hope it works."

* * *

Amatsukaze stood atop the warm sea as she glanced out at horizon. The sea breeze was almost nonexistent, and though the clouds hung heavily overhead, it hadn't rained all morning, and according to the weather forecast, it likely wouldn't for the rest of the day either.

"They're coming…" Kiso said seriously as she sailed up beside the destroyers.

Fubuki clenched her 12.7 cm guns more tightly as she nodded. "You can see them in the distance now."

Sure enough, when Amatsukaze turned her gaze back towards the horizon, she spotted the silhouettes of the Abyssal fleet approaching. She patted her repaired Rensouhou-kun by her side, though she figured that her depth charges would be more useful in this fight. She, along with the other destroyers, was also equipped with a sonar, which would allow her to sense the approach of the Submarine Princess, and after a few more minutes, that's exactly what she did.

"She's huge…" Amatsukaze breathed, her eyes widening. She turned to the other destroyers, who also wore similar expressions on their faces.

"The Princess?" Kiso asked, a scowl on her face. "At least if she's really big, she won't be able to approach this close to the shore."

Amatsukaze was still a bit unsure of that, but surprisingly enough, Kiso turned out to be right. Though the main Abyssal force continued onwards, the large sonar signature stayed behind. _Looks like the Admiral's plan is working so far…_

"The Princess is staying behind," Amatsukaze said to the rest of the fleet, also making sure to tap her earpiece so that the Admiral and the carriers could hear.

Bismarck crossed her arms. "Hmph. Cowards."

"That's good to hear," Haruna said with a smile. "One less enemy to worry about, right?"

"Heh. I knew she'd be too scared to come out and face me," Kiso then said, her prior serious tone reverting back to her signature cocky persona.

"This is kind of a relief," Murasame chuckled. "I guess the Admiral was right after all."

" _Don't relax your guard,"_ Kaga's voice suddenly cut in through the comms, as if she knew exactly what the fleet on the ocean was saying. " _There is still the rest of the Abyssal fleet to contend with, and they appear to have brought stronger fighters this time. If your mind is dulled, you will sink."_

"Yeah, yeah. Thanks, Mother," Sendai replied through her earpiece.

Kaga didn't say anything back to that, but Amatsukaze could guarantee that the carrier was frowning deeply. Either way, the enemy fleet was drawing closer, and so she prepared herself for battle, now assuming that her actual guns would be put to use instead of her ASW equipment.

" _Carriers, launch your planes,"_ Admiral Drake ordered. " _This won't be like the other sorties, though. Launch bombers with fighter escorts, and make sure you each attack from different directions. Strike hard and fast, then recall your planes. Send out another air force when I give the order… Also, watch out for the Tsu-class. Try to avoid them if you can, but make sure to drop a fucking bomb on them if they're distracted. Getting those things out of the way will allow our planes to move much easier, especially since the enemy only has two carriers to our four."_

" _Understood,"_ Kaga responded.

At this point, the Abyssal fleet was clearly visible. Amatsukaze spotted worm-like Abyssals with large, spherical heads jumping in and out of the water, and she was able to identify them as Na-class destroyers thanks to the Abyssal identification pop quizzes they were occasionally given during training. Behind them, she saw a few bipedal figures with enormous glove-like hands, and an impressive array of anti-air guns lined them. These were the Tsu-class light cruisers. Also present were the Ne-class heavy cruisers, which had short, white hair and a black mask which covered one of their glowing cyan eyes. Extending out of their back was a disturbing-looking gun emplacement which contained a pair of turrets, looking almost like a scorpion's stinger. And then of course came the Ru-class and the Re-class, both of whom looked as bloodthirsty as ever. The Wo-class carriers sailed at the back of the enemy formation.

Amatsukaze's golden eyes narrowed as she looked at the Re-class again. The way the other Re-class had tossed Amatsukaze aside like an afterthought still stung, and the destroyer was more than willing to take revenge on one of the now-deceased Re-class' sisters instead.

"Admiral, can we attack?" Bismarck asked into her radio, eager to begin shelling the enemy.

" _Hold on for a bit. The Battleship Princess said she would personally command this sortie, so I'm not expecting her to just send her fleet in blindly, especially now that her Submarine Princess has been taken out of the fight."_

The fleet held their fire, and as the Admiral predicted, a few Abyssals began to move away from the standard formation. In particular, the Tsu-class light cruisers had drifted from the main fleet and headed out back behind the Abyssals, more towards the side of the fleet.

"Why are they moving backwards?" Kiso asked, raising an eyebrow.

" _All carriers, stop your planes!"_ Drake suddenly said over the comms. " _Heh, how stupid… She's moving her anti-air defenses behind her fleet and to the sides because she doesn't see our carriers anywhere. She thinks that since they're not here, my carriers are going to try and flank her from around the islands… Let's show her how wrong she is. Carriers, launch ALL your planes right now and aim straight at the Abyssal fleet! Forget about attacking from different directions, just get there as fast as you can!"_

The carriers gave their various affirmations, and soon enough, Amatsukaze heard the faint buzzing of the plane engines as they flew overhead and rushed towards the enemy.

" _Haha! So much for this airstrike being different from other sorties,"_ Zuikaku laughed.

" _Looks like the Tsu-class are realizing their blunder,"_ Drake then said as the enemy light cruisers began rushing back towards the center of the fleet. " _Didn't expect me to hide my carriers on land, did you, you bitch!"_

Amatsukaze and the rest of the surface force watched from afar as the friendly airstrike descended upon the enemy. The Wo-class carriers tried to hurry their own air forces in order to counter, but the huge mass of planes seemed a bit too much for even them. Anti-air fire came from the Abyssal fleet, shooting some of the planes down, but most of them were able to hit their mark. The ship girls cheered as they watched their bombers land hits on some of the Abyssals, and one of the Ne-class heavy cruisers even went up in flames as she wildly flailed her arms. A couple Na-classes had also been hit by kamikaze strikes, and they exploded in a flurry of fire as well.

" _Okay, the Tsu-classes are returning,"_ Drake cautioned, " _call back your planes for now."_

The surviving planes broke off from their engagement with the Abyssal aircraft and began heading back, leaving a good portion of the enemy fleet smoking and sending a few of them to the bottom. However, as Amatsukaze watched the air show with a satisfied smirk, she suddenly felt something very large and fast approaching on her sonar.

"What the -"

Before she could even finish her sentence, Amatsukaze was interrupted by a huge underwater explosion only a few meters away from her. The enormous ocean spray blinded her as the force of the blast sent her flying, and she coughed and sputtered as she frantically tried to regain her bearings.

"Aaaagh!"

Amatsukaze whipped her head around to see Kiso lying on the surface of the ocean, her bottom half completely blown off and organs spilling out of her body cavity and into the water. The speedy destroyer immediately stood back and rushed over to the injured light cruiser.

"Kiso!" she cried as she knelt to inspect the damage more closely, which turned out to be a bad idea. If Amatsukaze had eaten anything in the last few hours, it would no longer be in her stomach.

"Ufff…" Kiso feebly managed, the light in her only visible eye slowly dimming.

Amatsukaze still knelt beside the light cruiser, a horrified expression on her face. However, she then noticed another body lying a fair distance away. It was Fubuki, and though she didn't have injuries as bloody as Kiso's, her limbs were bent in all the wrong directions, and she was rapidly sinking beneath the waves. Luckily, Bismarck rushed over and picked up the disappearing destroyer before she could fully sink.

"Light cruisers! Get over here and tow these two back to shore!" Bismarck yelled urgently, her blue eyes focused on the advancing Abyssals even as she held Fubuki's broken body beneath her arm.

" _What the FUCK just happened!?"_ Drake demanded to know. " _The Submarine Princess?! How the fuck…!"_

" _It appears she attacked while everyone was distracted by the air battle,"_ Kaga supplied, evidently having watched the whole thing from one of her planes. " _Even though she is far away, she is still capable of launching very destructive torpedoes at extremely high speeds."_

" _Fuck!"_ Drake cursed again. " _Yura and Kashima, get Kiso and Fubuki back to shore immediately and then return to the battle. Destroyers! Keep an eye on your sonar and call out whenever there's another one of those! Everyone else, concentrate on the advancing Abyssal fleet!"_

Amatsukaze gulped as she tried to prepare for battle again, her senses especially focused on her sonar this time. _Sure, we were distracted, but still… That Submarine Princess attacked so quickly!_

When the Abyssals got close enough, the shore guns back on the beach began to fire. However, the Ru-class and Re-class hung back for a bit and shot their own shells back, and after a few minutes and a series of explosions, the guns fell silent. Amatsukaze didn't need to look back to know that the shore guns had been destroyed and that the marines who were manning them were all dead.

"They're coming! Prepare for attack!" Bismarck yelled to the fleet as the enemy began turning their guns on the ship girls.

Amatsukaze joined her fleet in firing her own cannons at the remaining Abyssals, but at this distance, the enemy proved difficult to hit. Amatsukaze did manage to land a shot on the Re-class, but the aviation battleship merely smirked and swatted the shell away with her hand. She heard her admiral order out another airstrike over the radio, which might be able to help. However, it would take a minute or two to arrive, and her sonar was once again signaling bad news.

"Torpedo!" she called out, pointing in the direction of where it looked like it was coming from.

The path of the projectile headed directly towards Bismarck, so the blonde battleship quickly sailed to the side. However, when she did that, a shell from the Ru-class smashed into her torso, causing her to choke in pain and ending her momentum. The torpedo exploded not a moment later, and Amatsukaze shielded her eyes from the spray. Though she managed to avoid the torpedo, Bismarck was still sent into the air by the blast, and as the German flew one way, the carrier airstrike flew the other and headed towards the enemy.

" _Uh, is Bismarck all right?"_ Drake asked.

" _Guh… I'm fine, sir…"_ Bismarck replied through the radio, and Amatsukaze could see her slowly rising to her feet in the distance, though her chest area was burnt and bloodied.

" _Okay. Fleet, concentrate your fire on the Tsu-class."_

Amatsukaze did as she was told, positioning herself so that her Rensouhou-kun could get a good shot at the huge-handed creatures. Her shot hit, and the enemy light cruiser reeled in pain, but then a Na-class leapt out of the water, its maw open and its 5-inch gun pointed right at Amatsukaze.

"Fuck you!" Amatsukaze screamed, ducking and sailing forward as fast as she could.

Though she acted mainly out of frustration, Amatsukaze was saved by her superior speed, which actually allowed her to duck under the shot and reach the Na-class. She ripped it out of the air as it descended into the water, and she grabbed its tail and swung the enemy destroyer around her head a few times before bashing it against the surface of the ocean. The thing was heavy, but the adrenaline and anger in her veins fueled her strength, allowing her to continue smashing the spherical Abyssal onto the waves. The Na-class flailed about, but it didn't appear to be taking much damage. This pissed Amatsukaze off even more, and so she grabbed the destroyer's mouth cannon with one hand and twisted it just like she saw Iowa do in the last sortie. The Na-class screeched in pain, and Amatsukaze then swung her hips to blast the Abyssal right in the eye with a shot from her Rensouhou-kun. A hit from such a close range easily ended the Na-class' life, and Amatsukaze dropped the dead Abyssal unceremoniously into the ocean.

However, since she was caught up in her brawl with the Na-class, Amatsukaze forgot to check her sonar, and her heart stopped as she noticed another torpedo sailing right towards her. Even with her speed, there was no way she could dodge this one, so she braced for a devastating impact… But all she felt was a slight disturbance in the waves as the torpedo merely passed underneath her, evidently heading for someone behind her.

"Watch out!" Amatsukaze yelled as she whirled around, hoping that whoever was behind her would be able to heed her warning. Whether or not her callout was successful was uncertain, because the torpedo immediately exploded and obscured everything from view with the ocean spray. Amatsukaze was knocked onto her ass from the force of the explosion, but she quickly got back up, desperate to see if the torpedo had hit anyone.

When the spray cleared, she saw Shigure standing there, her arms covering her face. The Shiratsuyu-class destroyer slowly lowered her arms and noticed Amatsukaze.

"Are you all right?" they both said at the same time, then exchanged awkward chuckles.

"Sorry, I threw a depth charge at that torpedo and forgot you were standing in front of me," Shigure apologized.

"No, it's okay. It's my fault for not noticing it," Amatsukaze said, slightly impressed that Shigure had managed to act so quickly.

" _Shigure, are you all right?"_ Drake asked. " _I see you're still standing?"_

"Yes, sir. I used a depth charge to blow the torpedo up," Shigure responded into her earpiece.

" _Oh… Really?"_

"The enemy is advancing! We will need to fall back!" Haruna then called out, flinching as a battleship shell landed next to her.

Amatsukaze glanced back out at the enemy fleet. Almost all of the Na-class destroyers had been sunk, probably as a result of the two air attacks. The Tsu-classes were still alive, unfortunately, but one of them was smoking heavily while the other was bleeding from its side due to the hit Amatsukaze scored on it earlier. One of the Ne-class heavy cruisers had been sunk from the first airstrike, but the other appeared relatively unharmed. The pair of Wo-classes were heavily damaged after fighting off the air attacks, but the two battleships were unhurt.

" _Kill those Tsu-classes, or our airstrikes can't stay for long,"_ Drake insisted even as the fleet retreated a bit.

" _Admiral, I'm running low on planes,"_ Akagi notified through fleet comms.

" _Me as well,"_ Shoukaku added.

" _I think that can be said for all of us carriers,"_ Kaga said. " _Sir, our airpower is diminishing everytime we send out an airstrike. The third one may be the last."_

Drake's frustration was palpable through the radio. " _Is it that fucking hard for you girls to sink those Tsu-classes? Get them out of the way already!"_

"Another torpedo!" Shigure suddenly called out, pointing in the direction of the underwater projectile.

The fleet dove out of the way, and the torpedo exploded but was not able to injure anyone. However, the spray from the burst did a good job at blinding everyone, as the torpedo had blown up in the middle of the formation. When the spray died down, Amatsukaze looked up to see a flurry of black planes and shells heading towards them.

" _She used the torpedo as cover for the shells and remaining planes,"_ Drake growled, but at that point, there was nothing the fleet could do.

A dive bomber dropped its load nearby Amatsukaze, but the fast destroyer was able to dodge it. The sleek Abyssal bomber then tried to use itself as a bomb, but that too failed as Amatsukaze outsped it yet again. Unfortunately, the rest of the destroyers weren't so lucky. A battleship shell landed next to Shigure, throwing her off balance and allowing an Abyssal bomber to clip her. The explosion tore into her right arm, blowing off a portion of her shoulder. Though the destroyer looked to be in great pain, she still managed to stand up and continued to fight. Asashio was hit directly by a bomb, and Amatsukaze looked away from the mangled destroyer whose entire chest had been torn open and its contents splattered across the ocean, even as Yura bravely rushed to recover her. Shiranui was also clipped by a bomb, but she only suffered mild burns on her back and was still able to battle through the pain. Murasame lay face-down on the water, and Amatsukaze momentarily thought that she was dead, but the twintailed destroyer slowly got to her feet, revealing that she didn't actually suffer any major damage and had just been knocked down. Yamakaze also avoided a severe hit, but one of her arms had a deep gash running through it, spilling blood onto her uniform.

The rest of the fleet didn't fare too well after the joint attack either. Haruna was breathing heavily as she pressed an arm to her side, which was quickly becoming stained with blood. Bismarck had taken either a bomb or kamikaze hit, but it looked like she managed to block it with her right arm, as that limb was blackened and burnt. Suzuya had taken a hit that did some sort of internal damage, as she was bent over and coughing up blood quite noisily. Sendai was on all fours on the surface of the ocean, groaning in pain from something or another. Yahagi was in Kashima's arms, and the Agano-class light cruiser was doused head-to-toe in blood, and it was obvious that she was no longer breathing, though it looked like her head hadn't taken any major damage, so she could still be repaired if they acted quickly. Kashima herself wasn't hurt aside from a bleeding cut across her face, so it appeared she and Yura would be returning the dead to the shore again.

" _How the fuck is she still using that Submarine Princess to cause so much damage even though we were supposed to have neutralized it?"_ Drake asked no one in particular, anger evident in his tone. " _Aside from Asashio and Yahagi, is there anyone else who can't fight?"_

The injured ship girls made no comment, indicating that they were still able to go on. However, Sendai and Suzuya were still in their respective positions, seemingly unable to answer. Amatsukaze wondered if she should say anything about them, but she figured that the Admiral could see them from where he was as well.

A shell then landed in front of her, snapping her out of her thoughts. She looked ahead to see the Abyssals rapidly advancing.

 _This isn't good… We lost too many ships,_ Amatsukaze thought, wondering if they would be able to fight off the remaining Abyssals. A small grace was that the Wo-class carriers seemed to be retreating, so Amatsukaze assumed that they had used up all their planes in that last attack and were now irrelevant to the battle.

" _Fuck this,"_ Drake spat. " _All carriers, consolidate your remaining planes and throw them at the Re-class."_

" _Um… But what about the Tsu-classes, sir?"_ Shoukaku asked.

" _Damn the Tsu-classes! Full speed ahead!"_

That was the end of that short conversation, but the fleet had no time to rest as the Abyssals came within prime striking range. The Abyssals shrieked various battlecries as they approached, and Bismarck and Haruna quickly moved to intercept the enemy battleships despite their own injuries. A Tsu-class light cruiser slid past Amatsukaze, and the destroyer tried to turn and eliminate it, but she then saw the Ne-class heavy cruiser heading towards Suzuya, who was still caught up in her coughing. Deciding that preventing Suzuya from dying was more important than attacking the Tsu-class, Amatsukaze speedily sailed over to the two heavy cruisers and shot the Abyssal in the back of the head with her Rensouhou-kun. Unfortunately, the shot didn't kill the Ne-class, and the enemy ship turned around to glare at Amatsukaze, her single blue eye burning with fury.

"Shit…" the destroyer muttered.

Amatsukaze darted out of the way of the Ne-class' initial salvo, and she quickly fired her own guns again. However, this time, the Ne-class raised one armored leg and kicked Amatsukaze's shell out of the air with surprising quickness, causing the destroyer to curse again. Deciding that she needed to take a different approach, Amatsukaze raced towards the heavy cruiser and ducked behind her, surprising the Ne-class with her speed. Once she was behind the Ne-class, Amatsukaze fired her guns at the part of the Ne-class' body that connected to her scorpion-like turrets. The force from this shot made the Ne-class almost tip over, and Amatsukaze gave her an extra push by putting her hands on the Ne-class' ass and pushing forward, attempting to fully tip the Abyssal over. However, Amatsukaze underestimated how heavy the Ne-class would be, and the Abyssal refused to tip over. Growling angrily, the Ne-class sent a kick back towards Amatsukaze just like a horse would. The steel boot slammed into the silver-haired destroyer, making her cry out in pain as she ended up being the one sent to the ground instead.

The Ne-class then turned around and aimed her 8-inch triple gun mounts right at Amatsukaze, and since she was still sitting on the surface of the ocean, Amatsukaze couldn't rely on her speed to save her here. She raised an arm to feebly block the enemy's shots, but luckily for her, the Ne-class never managed to fire as a series of heavy-duty shots smashed into the Ne-class, blowing off her head. Amatsukaze let out a relieved breath as she stood up and watched the Ne-class sink beneath the warm waves. She then turned to thank Suzuya, who was the one who fired shots that saved her.

"Thanks for the - are you all right…?"

Though Suzuya's cannons were smoking from the shot she just fired, the heavy cruiser herself did not look to be in any sort of fighting shape. Her coughs had degenerated to wet-sounding gasps, and as Amatsukaze got closer, she noticed that Suzuya had a sizeable hole in her chest.

"I-it's all right," Amatsukaze consoled as she patted Suzuya's back, but the heavy cruiser continued to make choking sounds, and Amatsukaze could only watch helplessly as Suzuya choked to death on her own blood.

After letting out a raspy rattle from her throat, Suzuya closed her eyes and collapsed. Amatsukaze caught the green-haired ship girl in order to prevent her from sinking, but Suzuya was not much lighter than the Ne-class, and so Amatsukaze had trouble moving around with her. She looked around desperately, hoping that someone could come to their aid before they were both sunk by an Abyssal who saw an easy opportunity to score two kills. Fortunately, Yura and Kashima sailed over and took Suzuya off Amatsukaze's hands.

"We'll take her," Kashima said, her expression clouded with sadness. A trembling Yura grabbed Suzuya's other arm, and the two light cruisers headed back in the direction of the shore, moving much faster than Amatsukaze ever could if she had still been carrying Suzuya.

Wondering how those two returned to the battle so quickly after removing Asashio and Yahagi, Amatsukaze briefly glanced back at the beach. She noticed that Zuikaku and Shoukaku were standing on the sands, evidently there to take the bodies and haul them up to the command center. She assumed that Kaga and Akagi were also down there and were the ones who brought Asashio and Yahagi to the command center from the beach. She guessed that the Admiral had at some point ordered the aircraft carriers to go down and assist with the bodies after they launched their final airstrike.

Speaking of that last airstrike, it had finally arrived, and a sizeable cloud of planes began descending towards the Re-class, as per the Admiral's orders. The Tsu-classes were currently engaged in their own firefights, one of them dueling Shigure and Yamakaze while the other was facing Shiranui, so they couldn't defend against the planes.

"H-hey, what the fuck?!" Amatsukaze could hear the Re-class shout in the distance as the Abyssal noticed the airstrike heading towards her. Bismarck, who had been fighting the Re-class, gladly backed off as the planes rapidly descended towards their target, some of them dropping bombs and all of them kamikaze-striking the Re-class, regardless of whether they had a bomb or not.

The Admiral's aggressive carrier tactics had again proven to be effective, as the Re-class couldn't shoot all those planes down by herself and was hit with many of them as a result. After a series of explosions, the smoke cleared and revealed the Re-class to be prone atop the surface of the ocean, her black tail limp and her body rocking softly with the waves. Since she didn't sink, the Re-class was probably still alive, but she was definitely out of the battle and there was a good chance that she would sink on her own in a few minutes.

" _Our bauxite stores…"_ the Admiral moaned. " _At least the Re-class has been dealt with…"_

Amatsukaze then noticed her sonar ping with alarm. "Haruna, torpedo!"

Haruna nodded as she heard the call, but she looked to be in very bad shape. Blood painted the entire left half of her uniform red, and she appeared to be on the brink of collapse. Despite this, she still managed to lunge at the Ru-class she was fighting. The Abyssal battleship, not expecting a move like this, was snared by Haruna's maneuver, and the Kongou-class ship girl used the Ru-class as a shield even as she sped backwards. However, the time it took for Haruna to capture the Ru-class ended up costing her, and the torpedo exploded fairly close to her position.

Amatsukaze watched as the gruesome explosion completely eviscerated the Ru-class, sending parts of her body and rigging all over the battlefield. Haruna herself had been saved from the brunt of the explosion by the Ru-class, but the close proximity of the blast still did a number on her. When the spray cleared, Haruna had both her arms blown off from the elbow down, and the front of her body was badly burnt. She fell to her knees and slowly began sinking, but Bismarck rushed over and recovered her before she could slip beneath the waves.

" _Bismarck, bring her to shore,"_ Drake's tired voice ordered through the radio. " _Only the Tsu-classes are left, so we don't need your firepower right now."_

As the bloodied and bruised German made her way off the battlefield with Haruna in tow, Amatsukaze turned to assist with the disposal of the Tsu-classes, who frankly did not pose much of a threat by themselves. Since the one facing Shigure and Yamakaze was closer, Amatsukaze decided to shoot at that one as well, and as coincidence would have it, her shot from behind synced perfectly with Shigure's and Yamakaze's own shots, and the Tsu-class found herself blasted from three different directions at the same time. The volley of shots apparently set off an explosion within the Tsu-class' rigging, as the enemy light cruiser was immediately lit on fire. Amatsukaze frowned in distaste as the Tsu-class screeched madly, desperately trying to put out the fire but failing miserably. Soon enough, the Tsu-class crumpled as she continued to burn, and it would only be a matter of seconds before she was swallowed up by the water.

Amatsukaze then looked to see how Shiranui was doing against the final enemy, and she found that the destroyer had been joined by Sendai and Murasame, and that the three of them had already finished off the Tsu-class. Amatsukaze met up with Shigure and Yamakaze as they sailed over to the three remaining fleet members.

"Admiral, the Tsu-classes have been eliminated," Amatsukaze said through the earpiece, just in case the Admiral didn't see it for whatever reason.

" _Good work. Now -"_

Drake was interrupted by Sendai, who suddenly fell to her knees and hacked up some blood.

" _Er… Can you return to shore by yourself, Sendai?"_

"Uugh… Yeah, I think so," Sendai answered back, slowly rising to her feet. The light cruiser nodded a farewell to the rest of the fleet with a pained expression, then sailed towards the beach.

" _All right, so now all that's left is the Submarine Princess. She can't really do anything to us at this point, so we might as well just leave -"_

"Torpedo!"

The remaining five destroyers quickly leapt in opposite directions as the torpedo exploded underwater, sending ocean water flying everywhere. When the spray cleared, it looked like nobody was hurt.

" _Jesus, can I finish at least one sent -"_

"Another incoming torpedo!" Amatsukaze hurriedly shouted, a bewildered expression on her face. _How?! The Submarine Princess has never fired two torpedoes this rapidly in succession!_

However, as the ship girls prepared to jump out of the way again, they hesitated as they noticed that the underwater projectile was moving slower and was bigger than torpedoes normally were. Before they could make sense of what was happening, A huge, black whale-like creature emerged from under the water and grabbed hold of Yamakaze's leg with its dull white teeth. The green-haired destroyer managed a short scream before she was dragged underwater.

" _What the fuck!"_ Drake yelled, snapping the destroyers out of their numb shock.

"Yamakaze!" Shigure yelled, immediately setting off to follow the underwater signature on her sonar. Murasame joined her sister.

"Commander, the Princess is trying to bait us back into deeper waters," Shiranui quickly cautioned.

" _Yeah, no shit,"_ Drake replied. " _I can't just leave Yamakaze, though. Go after them."_

The two destroyers complied, chasing after the Shiratsuyu-class and following their sonars. Amatsukaze had a sinking feeling that Yamakaze may already be dead and done with, but she had to follow orders nonetheless. Seeing that Abyssal's massive beast emerge from the waves did frighten her a bit, though, and she really hoped that their Admiral had a plan.

"Commander, what do we do now?" Shiranui asked, echoing Amatsukaze's thoughts.

" _Give me some time to think,"_ he replied. " _Depth charge it for now. It shouldn't be moving very quickly in shallow waters. Shiranui, you and Amatsukaze need to position yourselves so that you can prevent it from going out too far, okay? Be out in front of it and cut it off if necessary."_

"What if we hit Yamakaze with our depth charges?" Amatsukaze asked nervously.

" _I don't know what to tell you! Just do what I said for now."_

It was obvious that their Admiral was frustrated that he couldn't think of a plan quickly enough, so Amatsukaze decided to leave him alone. However, the Admiral was right in saying that the Submarine Princess' mobility would be reduced in shallow waters, and she could see that the Shiratsuyu-class destroyers easily caught up. Just then, the black beast re-emerged from the ocean and spat up Yamakaze, roughly tossing her atop the ocean's surface. Murasame rushed over to recover her sister, but Amatsukaze's eyes widened as she realized what was going on.

"Wait!" she called out, but it was too late.

Using Yamakaze as bait, the Submarine Princess sent another torpedo towards the unconscious destroyer, also catching Murasame in the blast because she had gone to pick up Yamakaze. Luckily, Shigure had also realized what was going on, and she threw another one of her own depth charges at the Abyssal's projectile, detonating it just before it could reach its intended target. Unfortunately, the blast was still close enough to do heavy damage to both Murasame and Yamakaze, and the two of them disappeared in a burst of fire. The ensuing explosion sent their body parts and organs flying, and Amatsukaze couldn't even tell what was going on anymore.

"Nooooooo!" Shigure screamed in despair.

" _Shigure, shut the hell up! They'll be all right! Shiranui, go recover their bodies! Find their heads if they're detached! Yura, Kashima, hurry up and get back there!"_

Shiranui sped off to carry out her orders, leaving only Amatsukaze and Shigure to face the Submarine Princess. Since Shigure still appeared to be reeling from witnessing her sisters be blown apart, Amatsukaze blitzed the Princess on her own. She knew that her speed far outclassed the Submarine Princess' and she managed to reach the hulking sonar signature, drop a couple depth charges, and sail away before the Abyssal could even think of striking back. The underwater bombs hit their mark, but the sonar indicated that the Submarine Princess was still moving.

"Admiral, how many depth charges does it take to sink this thing?" Amatsukaze asked. The number she had used should have been enough to kill any regular submarine.

" _Fuck if I know… Shigure, are you okay?"_

The Shiratsuyu-class destroyer wore a melancholy expression, but she quickly forced herself to recover. "I… I'm fine…"

" _Don't worry about your sisters. They're being recovered as we speak, and they can be kept in stasis until we return to the base. All right? Snap out of it. If you don't this will end up just like your last sortie."_

" _Admiral, we've arrived,"_ Kashima, right on cue, said through the comms. " _Your orders?"_

" _Go help Shiranui recover the body parts and bring them back to sure. You two can't really do anything without ASW equipment."_

Shigure slowly recovered, her determination to avoid another demoralizing defeat pushing away her fears. "Admiral… The Destroyer Princess that I fought was able to withstand much more than a regular destroyer would have. I don't think that this Princess is going to go down from just depth charges, unless we dump a huge number on her."

" _Will you and Amatsukaze be enough…?"_ the Admiral wondered aloud. " _And now we have to watch out for that bitch's beast as well. Fuck."_

"... Should we try and retreat again?" Amatsukaze suggested.

The Admiral didn't say anything, and Amatsukaze could understand why he was hesitant. They got lucky that they were able to recover Yamakaze the first time, and she doubted that they would be able to do the same if the Princess managed to pull that off again.

" _Running won't work anymore. I have a plan, but only you can carry it out, Amatsukaze."_

"M-me?" She _had_ been made the flagship of the surface fleet for this mission, but that was more of a placeholder position since Kaga and Drake would still be calling most of the shots given that they could see the entire battlefield.

" _Yeah. Depth charges can't kill her, but can her own torpedoes?"_

As if to emphasize Drake's point, another torpedo was fired, and Amatsukaze immediately reacted by tackling Shigure out of the way as both of them had been distracted by their conversation. The spray from the explosion thoroughly soaked their uniforms, but they themselves were unharmed.

" _... Only_ you _are fast enough to pull this off, Amatsukaze,"_ Drake continued. " _First, I need you two to stand only a few meters away from the Princess. Amatsukaze, you'll be holding a depth charge, and when the Princess fires the torpedo, you need to rush towards the torpedo, jump, toss the depth charge into the water, and blow the torpedo up a split-second after she launches it. That will hopefully do enough damage to kill the Princess."_

Amatsukaze frowned as she listened to the plan. Though it was plausible that the torpedo may actually kill the Princess, the actual execution of the strategy would be extremely difficult. Amatsukaze would need to watch her sonar for the exact moment that the torpedo is released, speed over, and blow it up before it gets too far away from the Princess. She wondered if her boiler was even capable of going that fast.

"Um, sir," Shigure piped up, "if she fails, I won't have enough time to dodge at that distance…"

" _Yeah, but if I just send out Amatsukaze by herself, the Princess may not launch a torpedo at all and might just try a different strategy. If you're standing there, we can guarantee that the Abyssal is going to fire a torpedo because she'll be thinking that she can get at least one kill from it."_

That just put more pressure on Amatsukaze. If she failed, Shigure would certainly die.

The Shiratsuyu-class destroyer looked nervous, but she nodded to Amatsukaze. "I understand, sir. I am ready, then."

" _Amatsukaze…?"_

She opened her mouth to say that she didn't know if the chances of success were high enough to warrant trying this strategy, but out of nowhere, a sudden thought flew into her mind: _Would Shimakaze turn this plan down?_

Amatsukaze already knew the answer to that. "I'm ready, sir."

" _All right, go for it… And Amatsukaze, I wouldn't have suggested this strategy if I wasn't confident that you could do it."_

Amatsukaze smiled to herself as she took her position with Shigure. She fired up her boiler, and her mind drifted back to the early days of the Abyssal War, when she was on the same base as Shimakaze. The two of them used to have frequent races, and though this was obviously different, the atmosphere felt the same for some reason.

 _I never did end up winning any of those races… But this time…!_

All Amatsukaze's senses were focused on her sonar, and the moment she felt the slightest vibration or ping, she was prepared to take off. After a few seconds, a slight ripple poked at her hyped-up senses, and Amatsukaze immediately took off, not bothering to confirm whether it was actually a torpedo or not. Working her boiler to speeds she didn't know she could, Amatsukaze grit her teeth and sped forward, the wind whipping her face and hair. She couldn't see where she was going or how fast, but she relied on her sonar's proximity sensors and dropped her depth charge half a second after setting off. She then jumped into the air, but the enormous explosion still hit her on the way up, catapulting her even farther into the air.

Though she knew that she would be in great pain when she fell back down and hit the surface of the ocean, Amatsukaze couldn't help but grin as she flew through the air. The size of the explosion beneath her indicated that her depth charge had indeed detonated the torpedo, and though the whole thing had last less than a second from start to finish, it was the most exciting moment of her life.

 _I finally won…_

Amatsukaze then hit the ocean hard, and she winced as she bounced atop the waves for a bit before coming to a stop. She groaned as she rubbed her ribs, and she figured that they were definitely bruised again.

" _Admiral… The Princess has stopped moving!"_ Shigure exclaimed.

" _Go up to it and drop every depth charge you have remaining on it just to make sure. Good work, Amatsukaze!"_

The silver-haired destroyer smiled, the expression coming easily to her despite the pain in her ribs. "Yeah… It was nothing!"


	18. INFCOM I

The Battleship Princess blinked in confusion, her glowing red eyes flickering with surprise. _I've lost connection with the Submarine Princess…_

She was currently inside a large room which was mostly empty save for a big screen which now displayed nothing but black. The room itself was also dark, and the only light sources came from cyan pulses of energy that occasionally ran along the walls, ceilings, and floors.

"Hey, how's it going, Dyson?"

The Battleship Princess turned around to see the Airfield Princess enter through the far end of the room, her long, white hair bouncing as she walked.

Dyson smirked. "Ah, Henderson. It appears I've lost the connection with the Submarine Princess."

The Airfield Princess looked just as confused as Dyson had been. "Uh, what?"

"Are you daft? Do you not understand what that means?"

"Wait, you're telling me - you're telling me she actually went and got _sunk_?" the Airfield Princess laughed heartily. "Ahaha! What a fucking dumbass! That dumb bitch got herself sunk!"

Battleship Princess frowned. "You realize I was commanding that sortie, correct?"

"Then you're a fucking dumb bitch too! Hahaha!"

Dyson debated if she should go over and wring the Airfield Princess' neck, but she instead just smiled. "I will admit, even I was surprised. To think our arrogance would result in this, of all things."

The door to the room opened again, and an Abyssal with long, white hair in a princess haircut style entered. She wore black gladiator boots and had glowing red eyes like the other two Princesses, and on her head was a strange red and black decoration which resembled a lycoris flower.

"I heard Henderson's mad cackling, so I assumed something interesting was happening," she said with a sinister grin. "Don't tell me that Dyson told a funny joke…?"

"She might as well have," Henderson replied. "Get this, Lycoris: the Submarine Princess was sunk!"

"Oh? But a comrade's death is no laughing matter," Lycoris chided, though her smile only grew wider even as she said this.

"It was unexpected, to be sure," Dyson cut in, then turned to the black screen with an amused look. "Perhaps I got a little too careless."

"But in all serious," Lycoris began, "a human commander managed to defeat you?"

"As much as it shames me to admit it, yes," Dyson responded. "He had ship girls, of course, but after we crushed them in front of our gates a few weeks ago, I did not expect them to make such a comeback."

Henderson finally stopped laughing. "But how did they beat you? Better strategy? Or were his ship girls just stronger for some reason?"

"It was a bit of both, but more of the former, I think," Battleship Princess answered. "I believe you know the commander well, Henderson. This was Admiral Drake, the American who fought you by the Tokyo Base."

"Huh? That was an American?" Henderson questioned, raising an eyebrow. "Didn't know that… So those _Kido Butai_ whores were there as well?"

"I assume so, but I never saw them. He hid his carriers on land and actually launched his planes from there."

"Oh? An interesting strategy," Lycoris appreciated, being a carrier-type Abyssal herself.

Dyson nodded. "Yes. He also set the field of battle close to the shore, which resulted in our eventual defeat. At first I assumed he was trying to copy what the commander at Tangier tried against me years ago, but then I realized that he did this so he could nullify our Princess' effectiveness given that she was submarine."

"Huh. How'd he know about Submarine Princess?" Henderson asked.

Dyson sighed. "That was my mistake. I allowed their UAVs to observe our fleet before the battle and I told him that we had deployed a Submarine Princess. I suppose I got too cocky after the success of our last sortie."

"Damn," the Airfield Princess said after listening to that. "Hey, so what were Submarine Princess' last words? She was always so quiet, but I bet she went out screaming, haha!"

"I wouldn't know. Her death happened so fast that I did not even realize it until afterwards," Dyson informed her. "Apparently one of their destroyers was quick enough to detonate Submarine Princess' torpedo as soon as she launched it, and the explosion ended up causing enough brain damage to sink her… Which was another clever strategy that Admiral Drake used once he realized that standard depth charges would not work."

"Well, if you're done sucking this Drake guy's dick, are you going to tell us how far back this set us?" Airfield Princess asked. "Despite my amusement, we _did_ lose a Princess. That sounds like a pretty big deal to me."

Dyson shook her head. "This defeat meant nothing. Yes, it is unfortunate that we lost one of our sixteen Princesses, but in the end, we did not need to take that island, though it would have been useful if we did. I merely wanted to test how the humans would react after their defeat, and given this result, it does not appear that they will roll over and die so easily. Nevertheless, our Spring Offensive will tip the scales in our favor, and Operation Lungfish is still developing as well. Our war is far from lost."

"But still, such a victory by the humans surprised me," Lycoris interjected. "Those ship girls and their commanders may be better than we thought…"

"Indeed," the Battleship Princess agreed, her red eyes glowing brightly. "Admiral Drake and his ship girls… It seems they are worthy opponents."

Battleship Princess then paused and turned back towards the black screen, staring at her dim reflection in it. She licked her lips.

 _Killing them will be all the more rewarding now._

* * *

"Thank you for dealing with the invasion," Fleet Admiral Miiro said to Drake as he bowed deeply before the American admiral.

"Er, no need for that, Fleet Admiral," Drake sheepishly replied, still not quite used to the custom of bowing to people.

Genji scoffed. "Wish we could have been there to help, but politics fucking held us back again."

The three of them were currently in the lobby of the base's hospital. Drake had arrived back at the base three days ago, and most of his fleet was immediately put in the ICU, though by now their conditions had stabilized. Fleet Admiral Miiro and Rear Admiral Genji had returned from Sapporo this morning, and they just now encountered Drake for the first time since they arrived.

"But even so, we were all very impressed by your results," Miiro continued. "Sinking an Abyssal Princess could not have been an easy feat, especially now that we know what they are truly capable of."

"Oh, well, thank you," Drake replied, still a bit embarrassed about being praised so much. His phone then rang, and he pulled it out of his pocket to see that 'INFCOM' was the caller ID. This was strange because INFCOM usually used his office phone number on the rare occasions they needed to reach him by phone.

"Sorry, it's from Fleet Command," Drake apologized to the two Japanese admirals as he answered the phone and moved away. "... Hello?"

" _Yo! How's it going, Dick?"_

The deep, booming voice that resounded from the other end of the line could be no one other than Fleet Admiral Boston, and further proof of that was the fact that the caller referred to him by the same unwanted nickname Boston had used in his letter to Drake a few months ago.

"Uh, Fleet Admiral. May I help you, sir?"

" _Nah, just calling to congratulate you on your victory. I read your report, and all of us back here are pretty impressed with it! You should'a seen the look on the faces of these Euro admirals! Hah!"_

"Thank you, sir."

" _Yeah. Well, anyway, the resource costs for your last operation are through the roof, but I think I can convince the Citizen's Council to overlook that for now. Keep up the good work, aight?"_

"Yes, sir."

" _Okay then, I'll - oh wait, how's Bismarck doing? Hah! You write that dumb report about her yet?"_

 _Oh shit!_ "Uh… Not yet, sir. I've been a bit busy."

" _Man, fuck. Those two German pretty boy admirals are gonna be all over my ass, but yeah, you got a point, I guess. Just get that shit done as soon as possible, y'hear?"_

"Yes, sir. I'll finish it by tomorrow at the latest."

" _Cool. Oh, right, there_ was _an actual reason why I called you, now I remember. Apparently there's some sort of international conference going down here in London about a week from now, so we want you to be there since you're part of the Kancolle Program for the United States. Your Jap buddies will probably be there as well. You hear about this from your base yet?"_

"No, sir." This was the first Drake was hearing of this. "Is there anything in particular I should prepare for?"

" _Uh… Fuck, I guess just be able to explain what you've written in your reports, stuff about the Abyssals and ship girls and shit like that. There'll be a lot of important naval and governmental figures from across the world there, so they'll probably want to know about that shit. You'll probably have to take a civilian flight over, but we'll provide you with the four tickets. First-class, of course, hah! Oh yeah, the other three tickets are for the ship girls, since they want you to bring some a them along. You should probably bring Bismarck as one of them 'cause I'm sure these German bastards will want to see her again… But other than that, yeah, I think that was it. Anyway, I got other shit to do, so see ya in London."_

Fleet Admiral Boston then ended the call, and Drake pocketed his cellphone, turning to see that Miiro and Genji had already left. He continued up the stairs of the hospital until he reached the floor where his fleet was being held. All of the ship girls who had been injured were being housed in one large room like they had been after Bethlehem. They were all out of surgery by now, which was pretty impressive considering that a few of them had quite literally been blown apart.

 _I guess these medic-engineers aren't being paid those huge amounts for nothing,_ Drake thought as he headed into the room. He had seen how much the ship girl engineers were being paid just from glancing at some of the base's ledgers, and it was a hell of a lot more than he himself was getting. Then again, the military never paid that well to begin with, so he shouldn't complain about the pretty decent amount he was currently being paid.

When Drake entered the large hospital room, he was surprised to find that it was packed with ship girls, and not just the injured ones. Apparently many other girls on base had chosen today to visit their sisters, though that probably wasn't a coincidence since a lot of the girls had been in the ICU or in surgery for the past couple days, so visitors weren't allowed.

"Admiral Drake!" Kongou shouted loudly as she saw him enter. "What have you done to poor Haruna?!"

"It's okay, Sister. It's not his fault," a bedridden Haruna assured Kongou, giving Drake an apologetic smile. "Hello, sir. Good morning."

"Good morning," Drake replied with a nod, ignoring Kongou's outburst. "Are you feeling all right?"

"Yes, sir. It still hurts a bit, but these new arms are working fine."

"That's good to hear."

Drake then noticed that most of the ship girls in the room were staring at him, which made him feel slightly uncomfortable. It didn't really surprise him because it was only natural that they be curious as to what a commanding officer was doing there, but he didn't want them watching his every move regardless. If he knew that the room would be so packed, he probably would have held off on visiting for a couple more hours.

"Hey! I heard you guys sunk a Princess!" Kongou then said. "How!? Tell me your secret!"

"The secret is to become a good tactician," Drake replied with a smirk. "Also, try not to be defeated in one hit. That would help as well."

"R-rude!"

"Ehehe, I'm sure Kongou did her best," Haruna supplied, trying to cheer her sister up.

"Yeah, I'm just joking around," Drake said. "The circumstances between those two sorties were wildly different, and I'm sure it wouldn't have ended any better if I had been there instead of Genji… Either way, at least now we know that the Princesses aren't invincible. They can be sunk just like any other warship."

Drake then noticed Shigure in the corner of the room, sitting in front of a pair of beds that probably belonged to Murasame and Yamakaze. Accompanying Shigure were two other destroyers, one of which Drake recognized as Yuudachi and the other was one with whitish hair who wore the same type of uniform as Yamakaze. When Drake approached, Shigure stood up and promptly saluted, causing the other two to follow suit.

"At ease," Drake said, lazily returning their salute. "They doing all right?"

Both Yamakaze and Murasame were still asleep, but to everyone's surprise, Murasame stirred when Drake arrived. She opened her eyes slowly and looked at the four people surrounding her bed.

"Mmmph… What's going on…?"

"You're in the hospital, poi!" Yuudachi said, a little too cheerily given the situation.

"Ugh, again…? Oh, Admiral! Um, good morning, sir! Or is it afternoon…? What day is it…?

"It's been three days since the sortie," Drake explained. "You and Yamakaze took quite a bit of damage, but I think you'll both be fine."

Murasame blinked as she turned to see Yamakaze asleep in the bed next to hers. "Oh, did we win? We beat the Princess?"

"Yeah. Amatsukaze sunk her," Drake informed her.

"Really? That's great!" Murasame cried, then winced. "Ow…"

"You shouldn't move around too much," Shigure cautioned, a worried look in her blue eyes.

The other ship girl who Drake didn't recognize also stood up to adjust Murasame's pillow. Like her sisters, she was extraordinarily cute.

"Who's this?" Drake asked Shigure, pointing to the white-haired destroyer.

"Oh, sorry. That's Umikaze, one of our sisters."

Umikaze snapped to attention at hearing her name called. "Uh, y-yes! Umikaze, reporting for duty, sir!"

"Right… I'm Rear Admiral Richard Drake. Nice to meet you," he simply said, taken slightly off guard by Umikaze's overly-formal greeting.

Murasame then sighed. "I can't believe I almost sunk _again_ …"

"It's not your fault. It was a rough battle from start to finish," Drake said, trying to console her. He also spared a quick glance at Shigure, who was staring at the ground with a downcast expression. "Shigure, I'd like to talk to you for a bit."

A nervous look flashed across Shigure's face, but she nodded and followed Drake nonetheless. Once they were somewhat distanced from Shigure's sisters, Drake began speaking.

"Are you feeling all right after that sortie? No problems?"

"Um, my arm has healed, sir, so I'm fine…"

Drake wasn't sure if she actually didn't know what he was asking about or if she was intentionally avoiding the subject, but he decided to be more direct regardless.

"You seemed kind of out of it last time I visited you in the hospital," the American reminded her. "Are you over that now?"

Shigure frowned. "Oh, that… Y-yes, it won't be a problem."

"That didn't sound very convincing to me, but whatever you say… But if you have any problems with anything, come talk to me, okay?"

Shigure looked away. "No, I shouldn't bother you with trivial things like that…

"If it's going to affect your performance, then it's not trivial," Drake immediately said, bitterly recalling how his own fears cost them the chance to sink the Airfield Princess a while ago. "I'm not going to be angry at you or anything, all right? As your admiral, you're my responsibility now. If there's anything I can do to help you, just ask. It's my job, after all."

"Okay… Thank you, sir."

He doubted that Shigure would actually talk to him about whatever battle experience was disturbing her, but he at least wanted to make sure that she knew he would listen if she ever wanted to tell him about it. Briefly, Drake wondered if he would say this same thing if the people under his command were regular sailors rather than ship girls. He had been in command of a heavy cruiser for a short amount of time, so he sort of knew the answer to that himself… Something about the ship girls made him want to care for them. He assumed it was because their appearances were not suited for the battlefield, and so he felt like he had to be more protective of them, but ultimately he wasn't sure what it was.

As Shigure went back to rejoin her sisters, Drake still stood by the window of the hospital room, looking out onto the repair docks below. It was a sunny, temperate winter day, and as per usual, flocks of seagulls flew overhead, their caws faintly audible even inside the hospital. Drake's thoughts continued to linger on his ship girls. Though he recognized that he seemed to care for them more than he would for normal soldiers, was that actually true during battle? Or did he just realize that when they were out of battle and acting like normal girls? During all his sorties thus far, he never felt scared for his ship girls or felt like they were actual human soldiers out there who were being hurt and killed. Instead, he saw them as warships, tools for him with which to execute his strategy. Though he was prone to angry outbursts when his ship girls got hurt during a fight, Drake was never mad because he didn't want the Abyssals hurting his girls; he felt angry because he thought that the enemy was overcoming his strategy, and that frustrated him more than anything. When they brought the damaged ship girls into the command center during the defense of Hachijo-jima, Drake had barely glanced at them, and he didn't think much other than, 'Damn it, that's one less ship I have to fight with.'

Even when Yamakaze was captured by the Submarine Princess, Drake ordered the girls to go after her not necessarily because he followed 'no man left behind,' but rather that Yamakaze's death would mean the loss of a chess piece that could be used in future sorties, and also because losing Yamakaze would prove that his strategy had a huge flaw in it. Now that he thought about it, in that moment, he didn't remember Yamakaze as the cute, shy girl who would cling to him for the dumbest of reasons; he saw her as a valuable weapon that couldn't be lost to the enemy. To be honest, this was nothing new for Drake. Even back at Tangier, his first major engagement, he had no problems leaving the sinking or heavily-damaged ships behind as fodder for the Abyssals. Their crews undoubtedly suffered terrible deaths, but Drake needed to use them to gain time for his own retreat. And then of course was his strategy to use the civilian population of Tangier as bait. During the battle, he didn't think of any of those people as people, and he simply used them as pawns in his tactical game with the enemy.

Of course, that wasn't to say that he had no emotions or that he had no qualms with using people like that. His repeated traumatic flashbacks to Tangier were evidence of his guilt, even if he didn't want to acknowledge it. He also knew that he cared about his ship girls outside of battle, but when they were in the fight, a feeling of reckless abandon would overtake him, and he would use anybody and anything to achieve victory… He hoped that he was wrong about himself, and that he was just overthinking things.

The Battleship Princess' glowing red eyes suddenly flashed into his mind, along with the image of the Princess and her beast eating a sailor alive. He also remembered how the Abyssals had let their entire Los Angeles attack force sink, their lives used up and cheaply discarded as nothing more than a distraction.

 _To fight monsters like that, one must become a monster… Is that why I was the one picked for the Kancolle Program?_

"Admiral."

Drake turned to see Bismarck, who had just entered the hospital room. The blonde battleship had healed nicely from her injuries, and she didn't really have any close friends to visit in the hospital, so he guessed she must need him for something.

"Yes?"

"That Ooyodo girl asked me to tell you that you received a call from Fleet Admiral Boston," Bismarck said, a distasteful expression on her face. Drake guessed that Bismarck and Boston didn't get along back at London, which made sense given both of their personalities.

"Yeah, he called me back already. But that reminds me: I'm going to London next week, and they asked me to bring you along as well, so pack your bags."

"London?" Bismarck repeated, surprised. "For what? A sortie?"

"No, it's for a conference of some sort, so no need to bring your guns."

"Wait! You're going to London?!" Kongou exclaimed, overhearing their conversation. "How!? Can I come?"

"Ask Genji to take you. He might be going too," Drake said. "He hasn't said anything about this?"

"No! Was he keeping this from me? That bastard!"

Kongou sprinted out of the room, presumably to hound Genji about this. Drake felt like he shouldn't have told Kongou that, but it was too late now.

"Then are we visiting Fleet Command?" Bismarck asked, a hint of excitement creeping into her voice.

"Yeah, so get ready to do a lot of saluting, I guess."

"Ah, I see! When are we leaving?" she asked, stepping closer to Drake and grinning.

Drake frowned. "I told you, sometime next week. What are you so excited about? Got a boyfriend in London or something?"

Bismarck blushed fiercely and scowled at him. "Don't be an idiot! I just haven't seen my comrades in a while, that's all…"

 _She must be talking about the other German ship girls,_ Drake realized. "All right, all right. I'll tell you the exact date and time once I know it, so be prepared."

Drake then felt someone tugging on his uniform, and he turned to see Yuudachi smiling up at him. "I want to go to London too, poi! You can tell Admiral Genji for me, right, sir?"

"Yuudachi, please don't bother him," Shigure said, pulling her sister's hand away.

"Yeah, don't know if I can convince Genji of that, and he'd probably think I was weird if I randomly asked him that," Drake responded. He then turned to Shigure. "What about you, Shigure? You want to go?"

"M-me?"

"Yeah. I have three tickets, one of which I have to use on Bismarck. I'll probably ask Kaga to come as well since she's the secretary ship, but I still have one left."

"Oh, uh…"

"You can say no if you want. I just asked you because you happened to be here, so don't think it's required or anything."

"Hey, you should go!" Yuudachi encouraged Shigure. "If I don't get to go, you can at least tell us about it, right, poi?"

"Hey, I was sitting here too, you know!" Murasame pouted at Drake. "You could have asked me…"

"You're injured, though," Drake pointed out.

"I'll be healed in a week!" Murasame protested. "... But really, I think you should go too, Shigure. Haven't you wondered what the world outside of Japan is like?"

Yuudachi nodded. "Yeah! But then again, we don't really even know what Japan is like these days…"

Shigure thought it over. "... I guess I have wondered about that stuff… Okay, Admiral. If it's not too much trouble, I'd like to go."

"All right, then it's settled," Drake concluded, though he realized too late that some of his other fleet members might not like how he decided this on his own. _Eh, whatever, most of them are still asleep anyway. I'll make it up to them somehow._

The rear admiral then turned to head back to the office, but a shrill scream stopped him in his tracks. He jumped slightly as he quickly whirled around to locate the sound, and he found that it came from Yamakaze, who had just now woken up. The green-haired destroyer was sitting up in her bed, an impressive feat considering her injuries, but she didn't even seem to be aware that she should be in pain. Her eyes were wide with fright, and she held her head in her hands as her body trembled. Her sisters gathered around her as the rest of the room's occupants turned to look.

"It's okay…" Shigure murmured as she crouched down beside Yamakaze, softly touching her hair.

"Y-you're all right now," Umikaze tried to assure her younger sister, putting a comforting hand on Yamakaze's back.

After getting over the initial shock, Yamakaze seemed to calm down slightly as she glanced around at her sisters. Tears welled up in her turquoise eyes, and she slowly collapsed back onto her bed.

Drake stood by, silently peering over at them. A few of the other ship girls who were visiting also spared a moment to see what was going on, but they quickly returned to their posts once they realized it was nothing serious. Surprisingly, the girls who were asleep stayed asleep in spite of the loud interruption.

Yamakaze's three sisters continued to remain by her side, but they then turned to Drake, their gazes expectant. The rear admiral was honestly planning on leaving because he thought the Shiratsuyu-class destroyers had the situation under control, but now that they were all looking at him, he felt obligated to say something. He lightly cleared his throat as he made his way over to Yamakaze's bedside.

"Uh… Are you all right?" he asked a bit awkwardly, kneeling down next to her. Despite what he may have said to Shigure minutes ago, he wasn't actually that good at comforting people.

Yamakaze's scared eyes nervously flitted over to Drake. "... Admiral…?"

"Yes. You're back at the naval base's hospital now," he told her. "The sortie was a success, so good job out there."

"Oh… That's good…"

 _You certainly don't sound happy…_ Drake wasn't sure what else to say to her, and he felt pressured now that all her sisters were watching as well. He almost breathed a sigh of relief when he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket, and he quickly turned away to answer it.

"Hello?"

" _Richard?"_

Drake blinked. In his haste, he had forgotten to check the caller ID, so someone calling him by his first name caught him off-guard for a second. However, he quickly recognized the British accent and realized that it was probably his cousin, Lira. He hadn't spoken to her in a while, so he wondered why she was calling him out of the blue now.

"Yeah?"

" _Your Fleet Admiral said he forgot to tell you something, so he told me to tell you since he's in an important meeting right now,"_ she said, annoyance clear in her tone. " _You know how you're supposed to come to London next week? Well, apparently your government is sending a squad of Navy SEALS down to your naval base to hold the fort while you're gone."_

"The hell do they need to do that for?"

" _Why are you asking me? I don't have a clue why your government does half the things it does, nor do I care to -"_

She was interrupted by a series of rough coughs, and Drake frowned as he heard her move the receiver away and her coughing grow fainter. After about a minute, she finally returned and also gave Drake the contact information of the captain of the SEAL squad, her voice notably more hoarse.

"I see your condition hasn't gotten any better," Drake noted afterwards.

" _That's got nothing to do with you,"_ Lira snapped. " _... Anyway, that was all I had to say. I suppose I'll see you in London."_

With that, the phone call was ended, and Drake sighed to himself before pocketing his phone. He briefly glanced at the Shiratsuyu class and saw that they seemed to have forgotten about him, which gave him his chance to finally leave the hospital.

As he walked out of the building and into the winter air, Drake thought about the Navy SEALs. He supposed that it did make a bit of sense to send some American personnel down to the base if all three admirals were leaving, but he still wondered if it was a wise decision. The secrecy of the Kancolle Program wasn't really a big issue anymore (after their success at Los Angeles, national newspapers headlined things like, "VICTORY ON THE OCEAN: 'SHIP GIRLS' INVOLVED?"), but he didn't know if the SEALs and ship girls would get along. After all, the ship girls were still smarting from World War II, and though they had been told to get along with Americans by their own government, he doubted that all of them took those words to heart. Also, he figured that having an American military squad operate on a base full of extraordinarily-beautiful girls may cause some problems.

Either way, if the SEALs were going to come, he might as well make use of them instead of just letting them sit around and potentially mess with things. He entered the phone number Lira had given him into his cellphone, then listened as a brief period of ringing gave way to a man's lazy surfer drawl.

" _... Hello?"_

"Hello. Is this Commander Keats?"

" _Yeah. Who're you?"_

"I'm Rear Admiral Richard Drake. I heard you're coming to my naval base next week?"

" _Oh, shit! Yeah, that's right. Sorry, I didn't have your number or anything."_

"That's all right."

Though the 'commander' rank was technically subordinate to Drake's, with the way the Liberation Navy was structured, SEAL teams basically operated on their own and as a result had their own internal rankings system. This made them unique in the US Liberation Navy, though the Delta Force in the Army also shared this characteristic. However, due to the Abyssal War, the admirals had the luxury of being some of the more important members of the military, and so the SEALs generally accepted orders from them.

" _So yeah, uh, did you need somethin'?"_

"I was just wondering about the orders you were given," Drake continued. "Did Fleet Command give you guys any specific directions? Or are you just supposed to watch the base until I get back?"

" _Uh… Nah, I think he just said to go there and make sure nothing happens."_

"Oh. Well then, I've got something I'd like you to do…"

* * *

Kaga's golden eyes focused intently on the target in front of her. With fluid, practiced precision, she notched an arrow to her bowstring, pulled it back, and fired, watching as the projectile cut through the air and buried itself in the dead center of the target on the archery range.

"Good shot, Kaga."

She turned around to see Houshou, the effective matriarch of the base's aircraft carriers. Night had recently fallen, and though she had practiced earlier in the day, Kaga sometimes liked to go out and shoot a few more arrows when the stars were out. Houshou, having known Kaga for a while, knew this, and so she wasn't surprised to see Kaga out there.

Kaga merely nodded to Houshou, then drew another arrow and began notching her bow again. Houshou walked up beside Kaga, silently watching as the younger carrier continued to shoot at the practice targets.

"You appear troubled," Houshou noted just before Kaga fired another arrow. The remark caused Kaga's shot to go slightly off-center, and Kaga turned to Houshou with a frown.

"I don't know what you mean."

Houshou smiled softly. "Oh? As much as you try and hide your emotions, I can still tell."

Kaga's frown only deepened as she reached for another arrow. "Well, you can be wrong sometimes."

"But am I wrong _this_ time?"

Kaga didn't answer, instead notching her bow and firing the arrow. The shot was again slightly off from the middle of the target, and Kaga scowled. "... Perhaps not."

"I see." Houshou glanced upwards at the full moon as its soft white radiance touched upon the targets out in the archery field. "Your last sortie was a success, was it not? The other carriers in your fleet seemed ecstatic at the victory."

"It was a victory with heavy costs," Kaga replied.

"But no one sunk."

"... I suppose."

A few minutes of relative silence passed, the night air only being interrupted by the whistle of Kaga's arrows and the thunk of the projectile entering the target.

"Then perhaps you are worried about future sorties?" Houshou posited. "Though you won this time, it was still incredibly difficult, and you only had to fight one Princess."

"... Yes," Kaga confirmed. "When we last fought the Airfield Princess, it took the entire strength of the _Kido Butai_ to bring her to her knees, and even that was after she had already expended some of her planes when she attacked the base. Surely the Abyssals underestimated us on the last sortie, and that is the only reason we won. I don't expect we'll be so lucky next time."

Houshou continued to watch as Kaga merely notched another arrow after her pessimistic declaration. "... What does your admiral think about this?"

"What do you mean?" Kaga asked, lining up her shot. "I don't see the point in sharing these thoughts with him, especially while so many members of our fleet are still in the hospital. I feel it would unnecessarily bring down morale."

"But you are the secretary ship. It is your job to advise your admiral, is it not?"

Kaga frowned with frustration again as her shot sailed wide. "I told you, I don't want him to think that I'm being harsh for no reason."

Houshou sighed. "And what if he's having these same thoughts himself? Don't you think it would give him some peace of mind if you also sympathized with him? The admiral and the secretary ship are meant to share the burden of command, Kaga."

Kaga looked at the ground. "But…"

"But what?"

"The Admiral… He's been doing well lately."

"What do you mean by that?"

Kaga glanced up at the moon. "How much do you know about Admiral Drake?"

"Not much, I'm afraid… He stops by the restaurant sometimes, but other than that, I can't say I know him well," Houshou answered. "Why are you asking?"

"It's to answer your previous question," Kaga explained tonelessly, but then her expression took on a slight melancholy look. Most people would not have noticed it, but Houshou was not most people. "Admiral Drake… He is usually calm and reserved, in the same way I have often heard others say about me. He does get fairly aggressive during sorties, but even then, I've always felt like I could rely on him… I don't think he realizes it, but he exudes an air of quiet confidence that makes me feel at ease when he's commanding our sorties… I'm sure the other girls have noticed it as well."

Houshou was mildly surprised to hear Kaga praising someone in this manner, much less an American, but she was still confused as to how this related to Kaga's reluctance to share her thoughts with her admiral.

"I see you think highly of him. I am glad you have such a good admiral, but…"

"Yes. I was getting to that," Kaga continued. "Do you know of the Battle of Tangier?"

Houshou nodded, a serious look on her face. "Yes. It was one of the first major conflicts in the Abyssal War, correct?"

"That is correct. Admiral Drake fought in that battle, and he still seems to shoulder some trauma from it. That's why…"

"Mm," Houshou nodded, finally understanding. "So your admiral still fears the Abyssals to an extent, does he? That 'quiet air of confidence' you so value… It's shattered when he is reminded of his prior experience against the Abyssals at Tangier."

Kaga seemed a bit surprised at Houshou's accuracy, but she nodded nonetheless. "... Yes. And lately, the Admiral has seemed to be fearing the Abyssals less and less, so… I just don't want to remind him of how dangerous they are, and risk having him feel like that again."

"Do you say that for the sake of the fleet?" Houshou asked. "If your admiral were to be overcome by his memories, then it would certainly affect his ability to lead sorties, and the fleet would suffer for it."

Kaga raised an eyebrow. "Of course I say this for the sake of the fleet. What other -"

"Or you say it for yourself," Houshou interrupted, "because it hurts you too to see your admiral like that."

Kaga's eyes widened, her face betraying a momentary flashing emotion. "... I don't know what you mean."

Despite Kaga's words, Houshou got all she needed to know from that. "It's nothing to be ashamed of, Kaga. I'm sure you care for the fleet, but there is nothing wrong with caring for your admiral as well. In fact, I'm happy that you've found someone other than Akagi whom you can get along with."

Kaga turned back to the archery range, but her eyes were distant. "That's not how it is…"

Houshou sighed again as she patted Kaga on the shoulder. "Don't try to deny yourself. Your admiral probably cares for you as well, and you'll only make things more difficult if you ignore your feelings… Well, I think I've said enough. The others are already asleep, so make sure you don't stay out too late. Good night."

As Houshou went back into the carrier dorm that was connected to the archery range, Kaga stared up at the night sky, confusion clouding her gaze.

 _Admiral Drake…_


	19. INFCOM II

_**A/N** : That feeling when you can't even complete Winter 2018 on Casual difficulty... If only I had a few thousand more resources. This was pretty much my first event, though, so I guess it was a decent enough run considering how incredibly unprepared I was._

* * *

"Great, the goddamn machine's broken…"

Drake frowned as the currency exchange machine refused to take his money, instead spitting it back out and forcing him to go off and look for a new one. Kaga followed him as he stalked off, leaving Bismarck and Shigure (both of whom were asleep) in the waiting area at their terminal.

The group was currently in the London Heathrow Airport, fresh off their flight from Tokyo. Their flight started early in the morning back in Japan and they arrived at London sometime in the afternoon, so everyone was understandably tired, and Drake himself was feeling extra cranky thanks to his lack of sleep. Kaga seemed to be functioning just fine, but that was no surprise. Either way, the flight to London had gone well for the most part, and as promised, Fleet Admiral Boston had sent them four first class tickets, luckily giving them plenty of space in the cabin. The flight was also surprisingly empty, which Drake was thankful for since he was never a fan of crowded places. Bismarck and Kaga, having been on planes before, were able to steel themselves for the ride despite the airliner being larger than planes they were used to. Shigure, however, had never flown before, and though she tried not to show it, Drake could tell she was nervous, so he sat next to her on the flight over. After being assured that airplanes were incredibly safe, Shigure managed to sit through the flight, though she did grab onto Drake whenever there was even the slightest bit of turbulence, a trait he noticed she shared with her more timid sister.

The three ship girls who accompanied Drake had also changed from their regular uniforms to more 'normal' outfits so they would fit in better. Kaga's and Shigure's clothes were mostly the same, though they had slight alterations. Kaga wore the same blue skirt but with black tights instead of her usual thigh-highs, and her top was the white and blue shirts she normally wore. Shigure wore her regular skirt, but she too wore black tights underneath, probably because of the cold weather in London. She had on a long-sleeved version of her normal shirt, though she had left her red school ribbon behind. Bismarck, on the other hand, was forced to ditch her usual German officer's uniform for a dark gray sweater and a pair of gray jeans. She had wanted to keep her cap with her, but Drake threw out that request because he was sure people would wonder why Bismarck was wearing a military officer's hat. All three girls wore a pair of black military-style boots as well, since their normal shoes were a bit strange, to say the least. Drake himself settled for a standard pair of khakis, a black long-sleeve, and a USLN brown leather jacket since he was taking a civilian flight, though he did make sure to pack his admiral's uniform. Ultimately, Drake had to be the 'fashion police' and tell the girls what they could and couldn't wear, which made him feel uncomfortable, but he doubted INFCOM would appreciate it if he and his fleet caused a ruckus at the airport because of their outlandish outfits. It also didn't help that the girls were exceptionally beautiful and just naturally drew attention to themselves anyway.

"Hopefully there's another machine somewhere around here," Drake muttered to himself as he continued his search. He had been to Heathrow a couple times before, but his last visit was more than a decade ago, so his memory was slightly shaky on the layout of the airport.

Kaga seemed to be quite interested in the airport, just as she had been back in Tokyo, though they only got to spend a few minutes there because they were actually fairly late for their flight. Though the aircraft carrier tried not to show it, Drake could tell that she had some sort of penchant for airports.

"How do you like the airport?" he asked Kaga as his eyes scanned for another currency exchange location.

"It is… Strange. It's very different from the hangars at military bases and on aircraft carriers."

"Yeah, civilian airports tend to be a lot nicer," he said as they passed by one of the American Airlines 'Admirals Clubs.' "Hey, think they'll let me in for free?"

Kaga glanced at the lounge. "This airport has a station for admirals…?"

"Nah, I doubt it's actually for admirals. It's probably just called that for some other reason," Drake said as the continued past. "Then again, I've never actually been inside one, so who knows…"

The two of them finally found a new currency exchange machine, and Drake exchanged his dollars and yen for some British pounds. As he waited, the rear admiral pulled out his phone and glanced at the time. _We're pretty early… We might have to stay at the airport for a while._

However, as Drake was looking at the time, the phone screen suddenly changed to the incoming call notification as he received a phone call from INFCOM again, which meant that it was probably Fleet Admiral Boston.

"Hello?"

" _Yo, Dick! You landed?"_

"Yes, sir. We're at Heathrow now."

" _Aight… Well, we're going to be a little late in picking you up… A lot late, actually, so you'll probably get to HQ sometime tonight. It turns out that we only prepared an extra room for you and not your ship girls, so we're going to have to sort that shit out. Also, the guys who were supposed to pick you up got called over to get Cassius instead, and he's coming over by boat this afternoon. On top of that, there are a bunch of random-ass dignitaries taking up space at HQ right now because they apparently think that it's cooler to hang out here than their embassies, so we gotta wait for them to clear out as well. Y'hear?"_

"Uh, yes, sir." _Damn, why is the Navy so incompetent when it comes to logistics?_ "So should we just wait at the airport…?"

" _You kiddin' me? You brought three beautiful girls with you, and you're just going to make them sit at the airport for hours on end? Go show 'em around the city or something! C'mon, Dick! You're giving American men a bad reputation!"_

"Right… What about our luggage, though?"

" _Oh, fuck. Uh… Just get a cab to take you over to INFCOM headquarters and leave your luggage with the guards and we'll store it for you. Then go do whatever the hell you want for a few hours, and the rooms should be ready at around nine or so and we'll just pick you up or something. Good?"_

Drake didn't really have a choice in the matter, so he just agreed. The fleet admiral then ended the call, causing Drake to sigh in mild frustration.

"Is there an issue with our transportation?" Kaga asked.

"Yeah. We won't be able to get to HQ until around nine, so we'll have to wait until then," he answered. "Do you want to have a look around the city in the meantime? We can drop off our bags at HQ, but we can't really go in ourselves yet. The alternative is waiting here at the airport."

"I don't have a particular preference," Kaga replied, but by the way her eyes slightly lit up at the prospect of going out into her first major city ever, Drake had a feeling she wouldn't complain if they did end up going out into the city.

"All right, we'll go look around London, I guess," he decided as they began walking back towards where Bismarck and Shigure were. Drake himself never had a chance to explore the city either, so he saw this as a good opportunity.

The two of them returned to where Bismarck and Shigure were sitting, and they found that the two drowsy ship girls had more or less awakened.

"Where'd you two go?" Bismarck groggily asked.

"No one will be able to pick us up until around nine, so we're going to have to take a cab to drop of our bags at HQ," Drake told them. "Then we're going to walk around the city for a while since HQ is apparently too busy to house us right now. That all right with you two?"

"Yes, sir!" Shigure replied, seemingly snapping out of her tiredness almost instantly.

Bismarck shrugged, so Drake took that as a yes. The three of them then left the terminal and headed down to the baggage claim, after which the rear admiral paid for a taxi to take them down to INFCOM headquarters. The HQ was located in Westminster, and both Drake and the ship girls couldn't help but stare out the window when they passed through the city, especially as the drove by famous landmarks like the House of Parliament. The actual HQ building itself was not as impressive as the other London attractions, but it was no slouch either. It was a large building that seemed to be modeled after the House of Parliament, and a black iron gate guarded the entrance as two armed soldiers stood by. They looked to be part of the New Royal Guard, who wore uniforms similar to the red coats British soldiers used to wear, except with a patch on their shoulder with a design of a pink rose. However, though their uniforms looked like a throwback to the eighteenth century, their firearms clearly weren't, and their guns combined with the bulletproof nature of their uniforms made them a deadly adversary. Either way, the two soldiers were just there to guard the gate, so they didn't do much other than stare curiously when Drake and the three ship girls got out with their luggage.

"You here for the conference?" one of the soldiers asked, his accent further emphasizing the fact that they were now in London.

Drake nodded. "I'm Rear Admiral Richard Drake of the United States Liberation Navy. I was told I could leave my baggage here and that someone would take it inside?"

The two soldiers exchanged looks before one of them opened the gates and went inside. Drake, the ship girls, and the remaining soldier stood by awkwardly for about five minutes before the guard reappeared, this time bringing two men in suits with him. The suited men wordlessly went over and grabbed the group's suitcases and took them inside the building.

"You going inside too?" the same soldier asked once the men left.

"Uh, no, we were told that it's too busy in there right now," Drake replied, then glanced back over to the cab driver who was waiting for them to finish up.

The soldier merely shrugged and shut the gate.

"Anywhere you girls want to go in particular?" Drake asked as they walked back to the taxi.

Shigure glanced at Bismarck and Kaga, though the former seemed to be busy looking around the city while the latter wore her usual blank expression.

"Um… Wherever you want to go is fine, sir," Shigure spoke up.

"This is also my first time here, so I don't have anything in mind," Drake admitted as he stopped briefly to think about where they could go. "Uh… We could go to Trafalgar Square, I guess. It's named after a famous naval battle, so you might find that interesting."

The three girls had no objections, so that was where Drake told the taxi driver to go next. After about ten or so minutes, they arrived at the square, which was actually fairly crowded. Drake feared the girls might get bored just standing around and looking at stuff, but luckily, they seemed to be enraptured in the city atmosphere.

 _I guess that makes sense. This is their first time outside of the base, after all,_ he thought as he watched Shigure curiously approach one of the lion statues.

"Who is that man atop that column?" Kaga asked, looking up at the statue standing on top of the large white column that towered above the square.

"I think that's Admiral Horatio Nelson," Drake answered as he too looked up at the statue. "He was the one who led the British attack at the Battle of Trafalgar, and he died during the battle as well."

Kaga continued to stare with wonder. "I see… This must have been before our time, no?"

"Yeah, the Battle of Trafalgar was in the late 1700s… Or was it the 1800s?"

Kaga turned to him, the corner of her mouth kicking slighlty upwards. "Perhaps they'll make a statue of you too one day, Admiral."

Drake smirked. "Yeah, fat chance of that."

"What is that building back there?" Kaga then asked, looking out towards the large structure towards the back of the square.

"I don't actually know… It looks like a museum of some sort. No harm in getting a closer look."

Drake turned back to see what Bismarck and Shigure were doing, and he saw that they were talking to each other about something in front of the lions, so he decided to leave them alone. He wouldn't be too far away, so they could probably find him if they needed to. He could also call them if they got lost, so he wasn't too worried about leaving them by themselves.

The pair walked up to the museum-like building, and they saw that the red banners hanging from it read 'NATIONAL GALLERY.'

"Yeah, it's definitely a museum," Drake concluded as they got to the steps. "It probably houses an art collection or something."

"Art? Paintings and things like that?" Kaga asked curiously.

"I'd assume so. It's been a while since I've visited a museum… You want to go inside?"

Kaga looked at the entrance to the museum, then glanced back at Bismarck and Shigure, who were still by the lions. "If it's all right…"

Drake nodded. "Yeah, sure. Last time I was at a museum was when I was a kid, so hopefully this'll be interesting."

* * *

"I wonder if all cities are this lively…" Shigure said as she continued to stare at the numerous people that walked throughout the square. Cars and big red buses also filled the streets surrounding the square, adding to the noise of the city.

"I'm sure they are. Los Angeles in America seemed to be just as crowded," Bismarck replied with a frown.

Shigure walked over to the fountain, her blue eyes taking in the sight. "Sorry, this is my first time outside of the base, so I didn't know. Everything seems so fast…"

Bismarck nodded in agreement. "I suppose that's how it is nowadays. Back in our time, I'm sure that cities weren't _this_ packed… The Allies sure seem to have grown prosperous since the War, but I'm sure they've grown soft as well."

"You shouldn't speak of them that way. They are our allies now too, you know," Shigure said with a disapproving look.

"I'm aware of that, thank you," Bismarck bitterly shot back. "Even so, that doesn't change the fact that they were our enemies at one time, and that they were ones who sank us. This country's warships were the ones that brought an end to my life, and that's not something I can easily forget."

Shigure remained silent for a minute. Though she truly believed that she should try and get along with the countries that fought against her in World War II, a small part of her felt a bit of anger and frustration towards her former enemies. As evidenced by her dreams of Surigao that refused to go away, Shigure was still feeling the effects of her defeat at the hands of the Americans even to this day.

"But… We can't afford to feel that way anymore," Shigure then spoke up. "We're facing a new enemy now, and if we don't come together to defeat them, then they'll destroy us on a scale far greater than anything we experienced during the War. There just isn't any room for old grudges."

Bismarck scoffed. "You sound just like the Admiral, you know that? Speaking of the Admiral… Where did he go?"

Now that Bismarck had pointed it out, Shigure also began looking around for her admiral, but he was nowhere in sight. Kaga was gone as well, so she assumed that the two of them went somewhere else.

"Looks like he and Secretary Kaga went off on their own," Shigure noted.

"Tch. They seriously just ditched us? And who knows what those two are doing alone together…"

"What do you mean?"

"Nothing. Anyway, I'm not just going to wait around here for them like an obedient dog," Bismarck said, turning away from the square.

"W-wait, where are you going?" Shigure asked, hesitantly following the blonde battleship.

Bismarck shrugged. "Somewhere else, I guess. There's no point in standing around in the same spot all day."

"But the Admiral…"

"What about him?"

"Shouldn't we wait there for him to return?"

Bismarck glared at Shigure. "The Admiral didn't even bother to inform us where he went, so who knows how long he's going to be gone. If he expects us to stand by at his beck and call when he can't even do us the decency of telling us where he's going, then he's sorely mistaken."

"But… He _is_ the Admiral…"

"So? It's not as if we're on a sortie right now." Bismarck stopped and glanced back over to the square, where there was still no sign of Drake or Kaga. "How about we just return back here later? Or if they're still not here, then we can just go back to headquarters. I used to spend a lot of time there, so I know where it is… I think."

Shigure seemed unsure. "I still think it's better if we just waited here…"

Bismarck scowled venomously at the destroyer. "Then by all means, wait here."

The German stalked off, and Shigure reluctantly followed. Shigure felt like she couldn't let Bismarck go into the city by herself, and that it would be better if they stuck together.

The two wandered around the city aimlessly, Bismarck apparently just leading the way to nowhere. Shigure was about to ask if she had any destination in mind, but she felt like that would only annoy the battleship even further, so she kept quiet. They walked on the sidewalk and past busy streets, and the scenery was still quite captivating to Shigure even though there weren't any famous landmarks like Trafalgar Square that they passed. At one point, she could see what appeared to be a garden of some sorts in the distance, but Bismarck just marched past it, so Shigure did as well. Eventually, the German blew off enough steam and slowed her advance to a more leisurely stroll.

"Should we go back now?" Shigure worked up the courage to ask.

Bismarck rolled her eyes. " _You_ can go back anytime you want."

 _So much for that,_ Shigure thought as she sighed to herself. "Where exactly are we going, then?"

Bismarck paused. "Anywhere in particular you want to see?"

Shigure shook her head. "I don't really know this city…"

"... So the Admiral told you a week in advance that we were going to London, and you didn't even bother doing any basic research on the city?"

"Um, I… No." Shigure looked at the ground, disappointed at herself.

"Whatever. I don't know much more about London than you do, and I've even lived here before, so I can't really fault you too much for that. You see that?" Bismarck pointed to a large clocktower in the distance. "That's what the British call 'Big Ben.' We passed it earlier, remember? Anyway, that's one of London's most famous landmarks. We might as well see it up close since we've come this far."

The destroyer's blue eyes lit up with excitement. "It's so big… Can we go inside?"

"Uh… I don't know, actually. They were doing some sort of renovation on it the last time I was here, so I suppose we'll find out."

The area around the clock tower was actually not too crowded, and there were only a few people who were taking pictures of the tower from afar so as to get the entire structure in their photo. The two ship girls approached the tower more closely, and when they did, they saw a man dressed in some sort of uniform waving goodbye to a few men in suits and a couple police officers. When he noticed Bismarck and Shigure, he gave them a bright smile.

"Afternoon, ladies!" he cheerily greeted.

Bismarck nodded. "Good afternoon."

"Ah, are you two tourists from Germany?" the man asked, astutely picking up on Bismarck's accent.

"I am from Germany, she is from Japan," Bismarck replied, jerking a thumb towards Shigure.

"Um, hello," Shigure greeted, bowing politely.

"Yes, hello!" the man said with an amused grin as he returned Shigure's bow. "So, are you two here to see Big Ben?"

"Yes. Is it possible to go inside it?" Bismarck asked, glancing up at the tower, which appeared to be finished with its renovations.

The man nodded energetically. "You're in luck! We quite literally _just_ finished the final preparations for opening the recently-constructed elevator up to the top of the tower, now open to the general public… Well, technically it's supposed to open _tomorrow_ , but no harm in giving you an early look, eh? It's going to cost you a bit, but it's bloody well worth it!"

"Oh? How much?"

"Well, let's see - seventy pounds per person, I believe is the rate. It's free for all military personnel and INFCOM staff -"

"Oh, then here," Bismarck cut him off, pulling out her wallet to reveal her INFCOM ID. Shigure followed suit, and the man gave the ID cards a curious glance.

"Well, looks like we got a couple of navy girls here, huh?" he noted enthusiastically, evidently not having read their strange names. "It'll be our honor, then. Please enter through here, and then you'll spot a silver elevator a bit off to the right. There should be someone in there who can help you out, but the elevator buttons are fairly intuitive themselves, so it should be no problem. Please enjoy London in all her glory!"

Bismarck and Shigure thanked the man and then went inside the clock tower, where they did indeed find an elevator that appeared to be newly-constructed. They took it up to the top of the tower, past the bell and towards a viewing area that overlooked the city of London. When they disembarked from the elevator, they were greeted with a splendid view of the late afternoon cityscape. They could see Trafalgar Square from one end of the tower, and on the other end, they could look across the river at the magnificent ferris wheel that rose to join the tall buildings.

"It's so beautiful up here…" Shigure said out loud as she took in the view.

"I suppose it is," Bismarck agreed as she glanced down at Westminster Abbey in the distance. "And to think, all this could have been ours…"

"Hm…?" Shigure turned to look at Bismarck.

The German battleship sighed. "If we had won the war. This city would have belonged to Germany."

"Oh." Shigure didn't know exactly what to say to that. "But… Perhaps it's better that it turned out this way?"

Bismarck raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean? Wouldn't you have preferred it if Japan had defeated the Americans as well?"

"Well… It's not as if things are bad the way they are now, right?" Shigure pointed out. "Both Japan and Germany are doing well for themselves, and our people are happy. Besides… Both our countries committed plenty of crimes throughout the war, so maybe…"

"Oh, come on," Bismarck scoffed, "I'm sure the Allies were no saints either. Did you forget that they firebombed our cities? Your country was even hit with nuclear weapons."

"Yes…" Shigure's look turned melancholy. "But… I still don't think we should focus on our past differences. It's best to move forward now."

"... I suppose," Bismarck quietly conceded, which surprised Shigure. "But still, you can't blame me for thinking about what could have been…"

The two were silent for a bit before Bismarck spoke again.

"So you truly don't blame the Americans for what happened during the War?"

Shigure wore a pensive and slightly sad expression. "I… No, I don't… If I did, would this pain go away? Or would adding hatred only hurt even more?"

Bismarck's blue eyes softened. It was clear that Shigure still harbored trauma from World War II. "I think that you may be right, Shigure. We should try and get along with each other. It's for the best."

Shigure smiled. "Yes. Thank you…"

The ship girls stood overlooking the city for a few more minutes as the sun slowly began to set. The view really was beautiful, especially for Bismarck and Shigure, who had seen very little outside of the naval base.

Bismarck breathed in the evening air with a slight smile. "If we can win this war with everyone, then I think the past will no longer matter. It's what we do now, together, that will truly define us."

Shigure nodded determinedly, but then her expression changed to one of confusion. "Um… Bismarck, do you notice some sort of strange presence…?"

"Hm? Now that you mention it…"

Ship girls normally need their equipment to make full use of their radar capabilities, but even when they are not geared up, the microscopic Fairies within their bodies can still pick up faint readings of other Fairies or Abyssal signatures if the girls concentrate and the signature in question is close by.

Shigure and Bismarck were currently sensing another ship girl signature, though they had to focus to really feel it. The two of them glanced around, but they didn't see anyone.

"Maybe it's Kaga…?" Bismarck wondered aloud.

Just then, the elevator doors opened, revealing a woman with neck-length raspberry-colored hair and and crystal blue eyes. She wore all white in addition to a silver tiara-like headband. The girl smiled as she saw the two ship girls.

"Ah, Bismarck, there you are," the woman greeted in a refined British accent. "It took me quite a while to find you, you know. I had to ask around a bit, but eventually my carrier senses managed to pick you up! Just like old times, right?"

Bismarck scowled. "Ark Royal… What the hell do you want?"

Ark Royal laughed, a pleasant, chiming sound. "Oh, don't be like that. I'm just here to take you back to headquarters. You're here for the conference, no?"

"Hmph. As if I would need _your_ help to get there."

"I'm sorry, but I was ordered to find you and escort you anyway," Ark Royal replied. Her gaze then turned towards Shigure, who was unsure of what to make of this new girl who Bismarck was apparently not very fond of. "Who's your friend, Bismarck?"

"Um, I'm Shigure of the Imperial Japanese Navy," Shigure introduced.

Ark Royal smiled kindly at her. "Oh, a Japanese ship girl? Your English is good! I am Her Majesty's ship, Ark Royal. It is a pleasure to meet you, Shigure."

"L-likewise," Shigure responded with a small bow. _She seems nice… Why does Bismarck not like her?_

Bismarck groaned. "If we're done with the introductions, can we go? I'd like to spend as little time in your presence as possible."

Ark Royal seemed to be growing more amused every time Bismarck complained. "Oh come now, Bismarck. I know you're always like this, but at least try to show some class in Shigure's presence. You have to set a good example for your _kouhai_! I've been practicing my Japanese, see?"

"Stop trying to get Shigure on your side," Bismarck spat, stepping closer to the IJN destroyer. "Shigure, don't listen to her. She's evil."

"Er… Didn't you just agree that we should all try to get along?" Shigure pointed out.

"Ugh… Fine. Let's just go, all right?"

Ark Royal gave Bismarck another smug smile as the three ship girls entered the elevator. "By the way, where is your admiral?"

Shigure and Bismarck blinked as they just remembered that Drake and Kaga were still not with them.

"Eh, he'll show up to headquarters eventually," Bismarck decided. "I don't know where he is right now, though…"

* * *

"... They're gone, aren't they?" Drake asked no one in particular as he and Kaga stood outside the National Gallery, looking out at Trafalgar Square as the sun began to set.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have spent so long looking at the paintings," Kaga apologized.

"It's not your fault," Drake said as he pulled out his phone. "Guess we should just try calling them…"

Since he didn't have Shigure's number, Drake called Bismarck and held the phone up to his ear. However, he was greeted with nothing but the dial tone, and he frowned in frustration.

"What's the point in having a cellphone if you're not going to use it…"

"Perhaps they put their phones into their suitcases," Kaga provided. "That is what I did with mine."

"Why the hell would you do that?" Drake asked with a bewildered look. "That defeats the entire purpose of having one."

"Once again, I apologize. Some of us are still not entirely used to all the aspects of modern technology."

Drake sighed in defeat. "All right, all right. What now, then? Can you locate them somehow?"

"Without my equipment, I can only pick up faint signatures of ship girls, and that's only if I concentrate heavily," Kaga answered. "Aircraft carriers usually have better detection capabilities, but even I would find it extremely difficult to find them in a city like this where there are so many other distractions."

Drake frowned as he folded his hands behind his head and scanned the crowds. Trafalgar Square had become slightly less packed, but the city itself was still as lively as ever. He doubted they would be able to find Bismarck and Shigure on their own.

"Hm… Well, they can probably find their way back to HQ by tonight, right? Bismarck's lived at HQ before, so she should have some sort of idea. Also, since they're ship girls, we don't have to worry about them being kidnapped or hurt or anything, so I'm sure they'll be fine," Drake concluded. "We'll just head back to HQ at around nine or so and see if they're there. That all right?"

Kaga nodded.

"All right. So, what do you want to do next? We've still got a few hours until nine. Want to go see Big Ben?"

"Big Ben?" Kaga asked, confused.

"It's that big clock tower we passed earlier - er, it's the bell inside the clock tower, technically. I think you can actually see it from here…"

Drake pointed towards Big Ben in the distance, and Kaga looked on with curiosity.

"Ah… Why do they need such a large structure to tell the time with?"

"Uh… I don't know. It looks cool, though. So what do you say?"

Before Kaga could answer, a rumbling noise sounded from her stomach, causing her to look away and blush.

Drake suppressed a laugh. "We haven't eaten anything all day, have we? Guess we'll do that first."

The two of them made their way over to a small cafe by the square, where they were seated outside after a few minutes of waiting. Drake turned away from the menu for a bit to take a look at the city. This was his first time in London (outside of the airport, at least), and so he felt just like any other tourist. Though the city itself wasn't that different from most American cities, the sights of the big red buses that traversed the streets and the prevalent British accents were new, and then of course were all the city-specific landmarks like Trafalgar Square and Big Ben. Drake glanced back over at the square. The red-orange glow from the sunset cast a marvelous light upon Admiral Nelson, and the faint trickle from the fountain was audible even above the chatter of the city.

"Admiral… They don't happen to accept yen as payment here, do they?" Kaga asked, staring tragically at her wallet's contents.

"Probably not, which is why I had to go through that currency exchange," he said. "I'll pay for you, so don't worry about it."

Kaga looked disappointed in herself. "I couldn't inconvenience you like that…"

Drake smirked. "It's really no big deal."

"Thank you. I will repay this debt," Kaga replied seriously.

"Er… No need for that. Like I said, it's not a big deal."

"If you say so, sir."

The waiter then appeared to take their orders, and after listening to Kaga's order, Drake mentally smacked himself for offering to pay for the both of them. _Oh well, not like she could have paid for herself anyway. Besides, I should have known that carriers eat a lot…_

"Oh, wait," Drake suddenly remembered, "do Shigure and Bismarck have any money with them?"

"I don't believe so… You were the only one who exchanged his money for British pounds."

"Wow, sucks for them," the rear admiral remarked as he leaned back in his chair. It was still technically winter, but the London temperature was relatively mild. "I guess we should have told them that we were going in the museum after all."

Kaga nodded. "I don't think they are going to be too happy about this…"

Drake chuckled. "That's an understatement… Anyway, how are you liking London so far? This is your first time out in a real city, right?"

"Yes. It is… Quite interesting," Kaga said. Her answer wasn't very descriptive, but after months of spending time with her, Drake was used to this by now.

"So do you prefer this type of city, or are you more into the quieter places like Hachijo-jima?"

Kaga thought about it for a bit. "I dislike loud and crowded places, but… There is something about a city like this that I enjoy. Perhaps it is the lively nature of it. Back during the War, the naval yards were often busy like this, but the atmosphere was completely different. Instead of a sense of bloodthirstiness that I felt back then, I think this city exudes a… Strangely enough, a peaceful and calming feeling. These people seem like they are enjoying themselves."

"Wow, that's a surprisingly deep answer," Drake replied with an amused smile. "But you're right; sometimes it's good to get away from the war and forget the battles you've fought. But it's not always that easy to forget…"

Kaga picked up on Drake's shift in tone towards the end of his sentence. "I agree. Occasionally I recall how it felt to sink beneath the waves and watch the sunlight slowly disappear from view… But even so, I am happy to be given this new opportunity to fight again… Especially if it's with someone like you, sir."

Drake blinked in surprise, not expecting Kaga to say something like that. "Y-yeah… I feel the same way, Kaga. I'm glad that I can rely on you now."

Kaga gave him a slight smile, and Drake hoped he wasn't blushing. Luckily, the food then arrived, so their focus shifted to that. They then spent the rest of their meal talking about lighter things, such as the meager amount of British naval history that Drake knew about and the other landmarks of London. By the time they finished, the sun had almost completely slipped beneath the horizon, and Drake was a good deal poorer than he used to be.

The two of them sat for a bit afterwards, drinking tea because Drake had felt it necessary since they were in England. As Kaga stared into her cup, she began to recall her conversation with Houshou a week ago. Though she hadn't managed to tell her admiral about her doubts after all, she felt like… It almost didn't matter anymore. She was certain that the battles would get harder from this point on, but she also knew that Drake wasn't stupid and could probably figure that out on his own. And yet, despite that, he still seemed so calm, which in turn put her at ease. She was sure that the words they shared together also contributed to lessening her worries, and now, even though the threat of the Abyssals hadn't diminished in the slightest, she felt more prepared to face them than she did when she first spoke to Houshou.

Kaga stole a brief glance at her admiral, but she noticed that he was busy looking at something else. She followed his gaze to see an exceptionally beautiful young woman with silky blond hair, soft, white skin, and regal blue eyes. She wore a white sundress underneath a long light coat, and Kaga guessed the reason why Drake was staring at her was because the woman was intently staring at Kaga.

"Uh… Do you know her?" Drake asked Kaga.

"I don't believe so," Kaga said even as the woman approached them.

"Good evening," the blonde woman greeted with a smooth British accent and a polite smile. "I apologize for the intrusion, but would you two happen to be from the American navy?"

"Uh, yes," Drake replied, a bit taken aback at how she knew that. "Well, I am at least."

"Oh, of course," the woman replied, now turning back to Kaga. "You must be from Japan, correct?"

Kaga nodded, also unsure of how she knew that.

"Did INFCOM send you?" Drake guessed.

"Yes, sir. They sent me to find an Admiral Richard Drake and his ship girls, so… Ah, how rude of me; allow me to introduce myself first. Presenting to you Her Majesty's ship, Warspite of the Royal Navy. A pleasure to meet you."

Warspite gave the pair a light curtsy.

"Oh, a British ship girl?" Drake noted with enthusiasm. "I've heard of you. Do you know my cousin? Lira?"

"Lira? Ah, you mean Captain Snowbrook? Yes, I know her. She is a wonderful girl," Warspite responded with a pleasant smile.

"Well, I wouldn't call her 'wonderful,' but yeah," Drake said with a smirk as he stood up. "Guess we should get going, Kaga… By the way, Warspite, did you happen to see any other ship girls in town? You remember Bismarck, right?"

"Oh, you brought Bismarck with you?" Warspite seemed amused at that. "Did you get separated?"

"Yeah, kind of…" Drake answered, slightly embarrassed.

Warspite gave him a reassuring nod. "Bismarck has been to headquarters before, so I am sure she will be able to find her way back. One of my comrades has also gone out to search for you in other parts of the city, so it's possible that she may run into Bismarck instead."

"All right, that's good," Drake said with relief. "So, is HQ finally ready now?"

"Yes, sir. Please follow me."


	20. INFCOM III

"Yo, Dick! What's up!?"

The loud, booming voice of Fleet Admiral Boston sounded throughout the luxurious lobby of the International Fleet Command Headquarters as Drake, Kaga, and Warspite entered.

Drake saluted. "Sir."

"Ha! Don't be so formal, Dick!"

Fleet Admiral Boston was a big man, even taller and bulkier than Drake himself. He was a former marine, and he had even spent some time with the Navy SEALS before the regime change re-assigned him as an admiral in the rebranded Liberation Navy. He had dark skin and a well-trimmed black beard, and he wore his white admiral's uniform fairly loosely.

"Yes, sir," Drake replied, still annoyed that Boston insisted on calling him 'Dick.' He didn't know if the fleet admiral just wanted to use a nickname or if he was doing it intentionally to troll Drake.

Boston then noticed Kaga. "Oh! You must be the aircraft carrier, Kaga, right? Dick's secretary ship?"

"Yes, sir." Kaga confirmed in her usual blank tone.

"Nice," Boston said with a nod, "Dick only has good things to say about you in his reports. Good to finally meet you."

Just then, a trio of people emerged from one of the doors leading into the main lobby, revealing Bismarck, Shigure, and a girl Drake didn't recognize.

The German battleship frowned as she saw Kaga and Drake. "Ah, you've finally arrived. Did you two have fun on your little excursion?"

"Sure, I guess," Drake replied with a smirk. "Don't blame us because you got lost, though."

"I did not get lost!" Bismarck fumed.

"My, my, you are a handful, even to your own admiral!" the red-haired girl exclaimed, an impressed expression on her face.

Bismarck whirled on her. "Shut up, will you?!"

"This is probably why the Germans didn't make a bigger fuss when we asked for Bismarck," Boston said in a low voice to Drake as he gestured to the scene with an amused grin.

Drake sighed as he watched Bismarck and the red-haired girl continue to argue. Shigure stood cringing beside them, seemingly embarrassed by their behavior.

"By the way, who's that other girl?" Drake asked, referring to the red-haired woman dressed in white.

"Oh, that is Ark Royal," Warspite answered. "She is an aircraft carrier in the Royal Navy."

"I see… Wait, isn't she the one who sank Bismarck?"

Warspite wore a tired smile as she watched the two bickering ship girls. "Well, she is the one who disabled Bismarck's rudder which ultimately led to Bismarck's sinking, so those two do not have a very good history. Bismarck also does not get along with the British in general, so that certainly doesn't help either."

Another pair then entered the lobby, presumably to check on the commotion that was going on. It was Iowa and Saratoga, the two American ship girls that Drake had met before. Instead of their usual outfits, they wore a similar getup to Drake's: dark brown carrier pilot jacket, khakis, and black boots. It made sense because that was the way a lot of off-duty officers dressed in the USLN when they were on shore leave.

"Heya, Captain!" Iowa waved over to Drake. "Where have you been?"

Drake raised a hand in greeting. "We were just walking around the city for a bit."

"Huh?! How come we didn't get to go!" Iowa cried, turning to Saratoga, who merely shrugged for her part. "We were cooped up in here all day! Come on!"

"Hey, you three are matching," Boston noted with a chuckle. "We should get a picture of this. You look cute with them, Dick!"

Drake frowned as it was clear that Boston really _was_ trolling him at this point. "Uh, no thanks -"

"Yeah!" Iowa interrupted, slinging an arm around Drake's shoulders. "Say 'cheese,' Captain Dick!"

" _Please_ don't call me that…"

"Who is Dick?" Bismarck asked, evidently having had her fill of arguing with Ark Royal.

"Captain Richard Drake!" Iowa cheerily provided. "'Dick' is just a nickname for 'Richard.'"

"Yeah, but you can just call me Admiral Drake," Drake quickly interjected. "Call me Admiral Richard if you must… But do _not_ call me 'Dick.'"

"Oh, come on, nothing wrong with 'Dick,'" Boston unhelpfully countered, slapping Drake on the back while wearing a shit-eating grin.

Bismarck looked confused. "All right… That aside, Fleet Admiral Boston, I came to ask where the rest of the German fleet is. Surely they are here, no?"

"How the fuck would I know?" he replied with a shrug. "Those fucks get pissy whenever I get near them, so there's no way I can keep tabs on where they are every second of the day."

Drake suddenly remembered something. "Oh shit, I never finished that report I was supposed to send to them…"

Boston laughed. "Ha! You fuckin' blew them off?"

"Not intentionally," Drake mumbled, hoping they wouldn't care now that Bismarck was here anyway. "By the way, what other countries are coming? Where're the other Japanese admirals? I remember they left a day before I did."

"Oh, those lucky bastards are staying in the five-star hotel that the conference is being held in," Boston provided. "Sure wish our government would'a paid for that shit for us too… Anyway, the only other countries who have ship girls are those in the European Fleet, namely France, Italy, and Germany. Russia's also here with their one ship girl. Technically they aren't part of the European Fleet, though they do cooperate with INFCOM usually. Aside from those countries, there are nations like China, India, Spain, Iran, Saudi Arabia… You know, the big players. Most of their dignitaries are already here, staying either at the hotel or here at headquarters."

The great oaken doors of the HQ building began to open, causing everyone to turn. Drake stepped aside to allow the newcomers to enter. Two tall, blonde men in sharp navy blue uniforms entered, accompanied by a squadron of women who Drake assumed had to be ship girls. The two men were busy conversing in German, though they stopped once they noticed that there was a fair number of people gathered in the lobby.

"What's this? A welcoming party?" one of the German admirals asked in English with a smirk. He had short albeit messy dark blond hair, and he had a boyish charm to his face and voice. He was shorter than his fellow officer, though he was still about an inch taller than Drake.

The second German admiral was taller, and he had longer wild blond hair that was a much lighter shade. He had long, light eyelashes that gave his ice-blue eyes a frosty flair. His hands were in his pockets and he wore an unfriendly scowl, and his appearance and demeanor sort of reminded Drake of his own if he was being honest.

Bismarck immediately straightened up and saluted as they entered, and one of the German ship girls waved excitedly at her.

"Oh, Bismarck, you're back?" the first German admiral said as he returned her salute. He then began speaking in German, but Fleet Admiral Boston interrupted him.

"Yeah, can you all not stand there? You're blocking the fuckin' doorway."

The German admiral turned to glare at Boston. "You idiots were _just_ standing in this exact same spot before we entered!"

"Fuck you," Boston shot back with a humored grin. He then turned to Drake. "Well, Dick, these two pretty boys over here are the German admirals, Vice Admirals Ehrhard and Bremerhaven. The annoying one is Ehrhard, and the emo bastard is Bremerhaven."

Ehrhard seethed. "Fuck you too! Is that the kind of introduction you are supposed to give?!"

Bremerhaven stayed quiet, but his angry scowl only deepened as he regarded Drake and Boston with his cool blue eyes.

"Like I give a fuck," Boston responded, clearly enjoying Ehrhard's anger. "Anyway, this here is Rear Admiral Richard Drake from the US Liberation Navy… Though you probably already knew that."

Ehrhard cleared his throat as he composed himself. He turned to face Drake. "Yes. You are the American admiral from Japan, the one who commanded Bismarck. Speaking of her, you seem to have forgotten about the report we asked for."

"Oh, yeah, I sent that in. Must've been some sort of problem on your end if you didn't get it," Drake told him with a serious expression, causing Boston to hold back laughter in the background.

"What…? Never mind. I suppose it does not matter anymore," Ehrhard concluded. "Anyway, being around Americans is bad for my health, so we will be taking our leave. Come, Bismarck."

The group of Germans then walked off, Bismarck following her countrymen and melding back in with her group of ship girls.

"Those two seem friendly," Drake remarked dryly.

Boston laughed again. "Yeah? It's 'cause I've been fuckin' with them since the day I got here. They make it way too easy to tease them, hah!"

"Are all Germans still this stuck up?" Iowa sighed.

"I hear the Kaiser is a great man," Boston said. "Though I've never met him myself, so I can't say so for sure. Can't be worse than those two, that's for sure. Anyway, now that that shit is out of the way, I'll show you to your rooms."

Drake and Kaga followed Fleet Admiral Boston as he took them up the stairs into a carpeted hallway lined with doors to various rooms. The interior of the INFCOM HQ building sort of looked like it was modeled after one of those old-style mansions, though Boston had said that in the center of the complex was a large modern war planning room where most of the personnel went to work everyday. These wings of the building were mostly residential. Boston pointed out to Drake and Kaga where there rooms were. Kaga would be sharing one with Bismarck and Shigure while Drake got the room next door all to himself. Their luggage had already been placed inside, so Drake just went in so he could check out the room for himself.

The room was actually fairly similar to a standard hotel room, which was definitely acceptable. It probably wasn't as good as the five-star hotel Genji and Miiro got to stay at, but it was nevertheless decent. After heading to the bathroom and lying in his bed for a bit while he browsed through random stuff on his phone, Drake stepped out of his room, curious about the rest of the building. Boston had said that the other foreign personnel were already here, so Drake was sort of wondering what they were like, especially the ship girls. He also wasn't given any specific instructions, so he just assumed he was free to wander around. If he couldn't find anything interesting to do, he figured he would just eat a quick dinner at the cafeteria that was open 24/7 and then head to bed.

He briefly glanced next door, wondering what Shigure and Kaga were doing. He guessed they were most likely asleep, so he didn't bother knocking. Besides, he liked to have a little time to his own sometimes. The HQ building was pretty big, so Drake found it a bit difficult to navigate through. The upper floors seemed to be reserved for housing, so he headed downstairs. He walked through some doors and corridors, and he noticed that the walls were lined with portraits and paintings of famous admirals and naval battles of the past. They were most likely replicas rather than originals like he saw at the National Gallery earlier, but they were still interesting to look at.

Eventually he found the entrance to the cafeteria, but when he looked through the clear glass doors, he saw Bismarck and her group of German ship girls sitting at one of the tables. Bismarck was smiling and talking animatedly to them, and Drake had never seen her so enthusiastic before. The two German admirals didn't seem to be around, but Drake decided that he'd wait until the Germans left before he went in. He was about to turn away and explore the rest of the complex, but before he could, the German girl who waved at Bismarck earlier noticed him and stood up and saluted. This naturally drew the attention of the other girls, who then turned to look at him.

 _Fuck!_ In order to make it look like he wasn't just standing there staring at them, Drake decided he had to go inside now. Reluctantly, he approached the German ship girls and gave them an informal salute.

"I see you're having fun, Bismarck," he noted with a smirk.

"S-so what if I am?" she retorted hotly, blushing. "Anyway, what did you want here, sir? We're busy at the moment."

Drake frowned. "I don't want anything with you. I just came to check out the cafeteria."

Indeed, the cafeteria was a spacious and pretty room. The ceiling was also see through, allowing the diners to look up into the nighttime London sky. The room itself was well-lit with white lighting, and the floor was tiled with a white marble material. The walls were made in slate-gray stone, and small waterfalls descended from them, spread out throughout the room and giving the area the ambient noise of gently splashing water. Various food shops lined the the outer rim of the room, making it more like a food court rather than a cafeteria.

"I see," Bismarck replied. "Well then, no need to do that right beside us, correct?"

 _Looks like she's still mad at me about today…_ "Where are your manners, Bismarck? Not even going to introduce me to your friends?"

"I apologize for her r-rudeness, sir!" the girl who saluted at him quickly cut in. "I promise you, she is a good girl!"

"Prinz!" Bismarck cried out, blushing even harder than before. She then turned to Drake with a scowl. "Fine, if you must know: this girl over here is Prinz Eugen, a heavy cruiser. Those two small girls are Lebe and Max, destroyers. The quiet one is U-511, a U-boat, and the one to my right is Graf Zeppelin, an aircraft carrier."

The group saluted at him, and he returned it with a nod. "There's a lot of you. The German fleet must be the biggest outside of Japan."

"The biggest and the best," Bismarck proudly declared, puffing out her chest.

"Right," Drake said, resisting the urge to roll his eyes. "Well, I'll leave you alone, then. Enjoy your little reunion while it lasts, Bismarck."

Drake smirked a bit as he said that, feeling like some sort of villain. He supposed he (or his country, at least) actually was one considering those ship girls were fresh off World War II. Either way, Bismarck was going to have to go back to Japan when this small respite ended, so he figured he shouldn't intrude on her.

The rear admiral continued onward, passing the cafeteria and some sort of open area that looked like it may be a garden or a small park.

 _Damn, this place is bigger than I thought._ He also knew that each country in the European Fleet (plus the US) had their own private wing of the building, but he didn't actually know where those were located or if he was even allowed inside them.

He then realized that he completely forgot about his cousin, who lived in this very complex. He rang her up through his cellphone, wondering if she was around.

" _... Yeah?"_

"I'm at the HQ building now. I didn't see you, though."

" _Huh? Did you expect that I would be waiting for you at the gates with a bouquet of flowers or something?"_

"No, but that would have been nice, to be honest…"

" _Well, too bad. Where are you now?"_

Drake glanced around. "I, uh, I think I'm by the gardens or whatever."

" _That's not very descriptive. I think I know what you mean, though… Hold on, I'll be there in a few minutes."_

The American admiral waited outside the gardens for about ten minutes, enjoying the cool breeze that poured in from the open entrance. He turned around when he heard someone approaching, and he spotted a young woman with long chestnut-brown hair that curled slightly at the ends and sea-blue eyes. She wore the standard British officer's uniform with the khaki pants and red top, complete with the golden shoulder epaulettes. When compared to Drake's own olive skin tone, dark hair, dark eyes, and brooding disposition, Lira really didn't seem like she was related to him.

She gave a small smile and a wave. "Evening."

Drake returned her smile and raised a hand in greeting. "Were you still working?"

"Hm? Oh, yes. There has been a recent development that requires some attention, so unfortunately I was," she answered with a sigh.

"I see," he said, nodding absently. "Is Uncle around?"

She scrunched up her face in distaste. "You really want to see him?"

Drake smirked. "Hell no. I was asking so that I know where to avoid him."

"Well, considering the circumstances, good luck with that. Anyway, congratulations on your last sortie. I heard you sunk a Princess."

" _I_ didn't sink her, but yeah, thanks," he replied, then crossed his arms smugly. "Though I guess that makes me the first commander to defeat a Princess, huh?"

Lira frowned. "I read your report, and you got very lucky. Don't get too arrogant."

"Oh? Didn't know they let even _you_ read my reports."

"What's that supposed to mean?" she demanded angrily. "... But I guess you're not wrong. This one was just widely circulated because you sunk a Princess, so people wanted to know how you did it. Your reports are most often just read by your fleet admiral and then some of the other high-ranking members here."

She then paused to cough briefly into her arm, a rough, scraping sound that made Drake flinch.

Lira glared up at him. "Don't say anything."

Drake held his hands up. "I didn't, Jesus... "

"But you were thinking it."

"No I wasn't."

"Yes you were."

"Fine, I was," Drake conceded. "Happy now?"

"Yeah, completely," she scoffed. "I am still taking my meds, so it will get better."

"That's not what the doctor said," Drake countered.

"It's pointless discussing this with you," she spat in frustration. "If you're just going to be an ass, then I'm leaving."

"Okay, okay, calm down…"

Drake then turned back to the garden. "So what is this thing? Is it not a garden?"

Lira turned to face it as well. "It's just an open area. It's far too small to be an actual garden, see?"

Drake shrugged. "I guess."

"So how is Bismarck treating you?" Lira then asked.

Drake simply shook his head and sighed in reply, causing his cousin to giggle.

"You _were_ the one who was desperate for a battleship, weren't you?"

"Yeah, and I asked for Warspite first," he pointed out. "Now that I've met both Warspite and Bismarck, I think I'd get along way better with the former."

"Well, too bad," Lira said in a teasing tone. "You're stuck with Bismarck, so you two better make up."

Drake shrugged. "Hey, if she sets her mind on refusing to cooperate, there's nothing I can do."

"Come now. Aren't you a rear admiral? Don't act like you have no power."

"Yeah, I guess," Drake said in defeat as he put his hands into his pockets and looked back out at the garden.

"Have you been back to the States lately?" Lira changed the subject.

"Other than that sortie to Los Angeles, no. I've just been in Japan for the past few months."

"You haven't been home at all?" she asked. "Isn't your family wondering about you?"

"It's not like I haven't talked to them at all," he told her. "Besides I'm an adult now. I don't need to be back home that often."

Lira grinned at him. "Hm? Don't tell me you actually prefer it in Japan…"

"Nah. I do miss America, I'll admit that, but I've got a job to do, so I can't sit back and whine about it," Drake concluded.

"What about our other cousins that also live in America? Surely they must miss you," she said.

"Eh, I doubt it."

"Oh, don't act like that. You know for a fact that they prefer you over me."

Drake shot her a look. "That's because you never visit."

"Sorry," Lira apologized.

Drake shook his head. "Whatever. So, is there anything interesting to do here? If not, I'm just going to go to bed since I had an early flight this morning."

"There's absolutely nothing to do here in HQ, no," she replied. "If you want something fun, you'll have to go out into the city itself."

"Already did that for practically the whole day," Drake said. "We went to the National Gallery. Ever been there?"

"Don't think so… Never really had time for it."

"Really? What about tomorrow? I've already been to the National Gallery, but you could show me around somewhere else."

"Can't," Lira said with a sigh. "Like I said, I've got work with something else, so I'll probably only see you at the ball at night. Besides, don't you have other things you need to do? Don't tell me your navy just gave you free vacation time."

Drake shrugged. "I didn't get any specific orders, so I'm assuming I'm allowed to do whatever I want until the conference in two days."

"Tch. You're quite lucky."

Drake then realized he completely skimmed over something she said earlier.

"Wait… There's a _ball_ tomorrow night?!"

* * *

With his hands in the pockets of his jet black tuxedo, Drake entered the spacious ballroom of the newly-remodeled Ritz hotel where a good number of people in evening wear were already gathered.

"This is stupid…" Genji muttered beside him, also dressed in a tuxedo, his short black hair slicked back.

Drake merely grunted in agreement. Apparently INFCOM had decided to host a ball so that all the foreign dignitaries and admirals could get a chance to meet each other before the actual conference, and attendance was mandatory. The ship girls also accompanied them, though like Drake himself, they didn't have any sort of apparel appropriate for a ball, so Boston had to send someone out to rent some dresses and a tuxedo. All in all, Drake thought the whole thing was just a hassle, though he did suppose it was a good opportunity to see some of the other foreign ship girls.

"Isn't this just great!" Kongou shouted as she slung her arms around Genji's and Drake's shoulders. She wore a black dress which accentuated her figure, and Drake had to admit that she looked gorgeous. "A ball in London! It's what I've always dreamed of, desu!"

"Yeah! It's amazing, poi!" Yuudachi also cried out, standing beside her sister, Shigure.

Neither Drake or Genji seemed to share their enthusiasm, though.

"This is all your fault, Drake," Genji said under his breath to the American. "You're the one who made me bring these two along..."

"The fuck I was!" Drake shot back.

Kongou suddenly let go of them, a figure in the distance catching her eye. "Oh my god, is that Warspite? Hey! Warspite!"

The battleship then ran off to pester the British ship girls, and Yuudachi, caught up in the excitement, followed, dragging a reluctant Shigure along with her.

"You two! Don't run in here!" Genji commanded, but his words went ignored. "Seriously… This is such a pain."

With those three gone, that left Drake and Genji with Kaga and Bismarck. The former wore a dark blue dress and her usual blank expression while the latter wore a black dress similar to Kongou's, and needless to say, both of them looked stunning. Drake had no doubt that they would attract a lot of attention tonight, so he hoped he could just sit at a table and drink the night away while the ship girls distracted everyone else.

"This really is dumb," Bismarck said, crossing her arms. "What exactly are we supposed to do here?"

"Ah, Bismarck, there you are."

The four of them turned around to see the carrier known as Graf Zeppelin, accompanied by the other members of the German fleet. Ehrhard and Bremerhaven were also there, looking as handsome as ever, but they merely scowled at Drake and Genji, who, for their part, responded with their own equally-impressive scowls.

"Oh? You're all here," Bismarck greeted them with a smile. "Good timing. We just arrived as well."

"Admiral Drake!" Prinz Eugen, who was dressed in an alluring red gown, saluted him. "I hope Bismarck hasn't been giving you any trouble!"

"Prinz, please stop acting as if you're my mother," Bismarck said with a roll of her eyes.

Drake smirked as he returned the salute. "Don't worry. Bismarck's just been her usual stuck-up self, so it's nothing I can't handle."

Bismarck whirled on Drake. "Admiral! You can't say things like that in front of them! Don't you dare sully my reputation with your lies!"

"Hm?" Graf Zeppelin glanced at Kaga. "Are you an aircraft carrier, by any chance?"

Kaga nodded.

"Interesting. Do you happen to know Akagi?"

Kaga nodded again.

" _Wunderbar_!" Graf Zeppelin exclaimed, her pale blue eyes lighting up. "Did you know that I was modeled after her? What is she like? I would love to test my skills in combat against her!"

Graf Zeppelin then dragged Kaga away, continuing to pester the other carrier with questions. Bismarck also followed the rest of the German fleet, leaving Drake and Genji by themselves.

"Aw, did your dates leave you, boys?"

Drake and Genji turned to locate the source of the voice who was speaking in Japanese, and they found Fleet Admiral Umi sitting at one of the tables, a glass of wine in her hand. She wore a white dress and had her black hair tied into an elegant bun, giving her a regal appearance. However, the deep tint in her cheeks and her demeanor made it clear that she was well on her way to being utterly smashed, if she wasn't already.

Seated beside Umi was a tall, beautiful girl in a magenta dress, and Drake remembered her as Yamato, the battleship he saw when he last spoke to Umi. With her long ponytail and curvaceous figure, Yamato looked like a goddess, and Drake almost forgot to breathe when he glanced at her. The ship girl looked embarrassed at her admiral's antics, but she remained obediently seated beside her regardless.

"Hey, come over here! We'll keep you company!" Umi declared, gesturing to them with her wine glass.

Drake and Genji gave each other unsure looks, but they went over anyway, taking their seats at the table.

"Hey! Waiter! Get these two some drinks!" Umi shouted in heavily-accented English, causing the table's three other occupants to cringe at her brashness. Nevertheless, one of the hotel staff walking around obeyed, pouring wine from a bottle into two of the empty glasses at the set table.

"So, you two havin' fun yet?" Umi asked with a grin, switching back to Japanese.

"Uh, sure," Drake replied. _She got herself drunk this early into the night!?_

"Eeeeeeh? That didn't sound very convincing," Umi said. She then turned to Yamato. "What about you, Yamato? Ya feelin' it yet?"

"U-um, I don't know, ma'am," the poor ship girl replied, looking away.

Umi sighed, leaning back in her chair. "You all are lame. You see, the only way to survive events like this are to get drunk, y'hear? Genji, don't tell me you didn't even get drunk at the Empress' party a couple weeks ago. I was too drunk to remember."

"No, ma'am. I assumed it would be rude," Genji said, watching with strange fascination as Umi downed the rest of her glass.

Umi let out a pleasured sigh after finishing her drink. "Really? I don't… Though, then again, I _am_ a fleet admiral, so maybe they went easy on me. Hah! What about you, Admiral Richard? You staying sober tonight as well?"

Drake's initial plan had actually been to get drunk enough to get through the night, but after seeing Umi, he wasn't so sure if that was a good idea anymore. "Uh… Maybe."

"Oh, come on, I thought you Americans loved to party?" Umi teased. "Now that Admiral Wei, _he's_ someone who knows how to drink!"

That reminded Drake that he hadn't seen Iowa or Saratoga yet. He had arrived at the ballroom with the Genji, so the Americans went at a different time, though he didn't know if they were already here or if they had yet to arrive.

"Looking for someone?" Umi asked. She then shot a sidelong glance at Yamato. "Richard, no need to search the crowds; you've got a top-class beauty right here! Right, Yamato?"

"Eh?" Yamato looked confused. "Me? I…"

"Oh, be more confident!" Umi urged. "Talk to him! Don't just sit there all night!"

"Er, that really isn't necessary…" Drake tried to say, but Yamato then turned her mesmerizing eyes on him, fixing him with a determined stare.

"H-how do you do?" she asked in perfect English.

Drake was so caught up in her beauty that he barely even heard her, causing Yamato's expression to change into one of horror.

"Oh no, I knew my English was terrible!" she bemoaned in Japanese.

"N-no, it was very good," Drake quickly said. "It was so good that it just surprised me, that's all…"

"See? You two were made for each other," Umi remarked dryly as she sipped on another glass of wine.

"Is Admiral Hayama here?" Genji asked.

Umi laughed. "That shrimp? Hell no. This is a party for adults! Besides, someone has to stay back and watch the base, even though an Abyssal attack right now is unlikely, thanks to Richard here and his actions last week."

Umi raised her glass to Drake, and he returned the gesture with a nod.

"Hey, Genji, we can't let the Americans surpass us, y'know," the fleet admiral then said after downing her glass.

Genji scowled. "Hmph. He used Japanese ship girls to win, Japanese intel, and Japanese equipment. The only thing that wasn't Japanese about that operation was Drake himself, actually."

"And all the resources that America provides that keeps the base running," Drake pointed out. "Though it is true that victory couldn't have been achieved without the help of Japan. Can't argue against that."

Umi nodded. "Indeed… After the Great Churning, it honestly looked like the world was becoming more and more nationalistic, and I thought it might lead to war. The one good thing about the Abyssals is that they forced us to put aside our differences and come together, so luckily that was avoided."

"But we ended up with war anyway," Genji countered. "And I feel as if this war has a greater chance of wiping out humanity than any human-versus-human war could have had."

A sunken atmosphere settled over the table after that. The Abyssals were not human, and so they cared not for the human race and were undoubtedly willing to shun all rules of war that humans abided by. The Abyssals also saw no value in human lives and were not influenced by political or territorial ambition, so they could not be reasoned with either. Based on all that, it was very possible that the Abyssals could end up completely destroying humanity if they were not stopped.

"Ah, enough of this depressing talk," Umi decided. "Can we spend one night not talking about our imminent demise? You guys need to lighten up!"

Genji frowned. "The Abyssals are the most important thing, though. Do you really have any matters as pressing as them that you need to worry about?"

"Screw the Abyssals," Umi said with a grin. "Speaking of screwing, who do you think's more handsome, Yamato? Genji or Richard?"

Drake and Genji sat there with confused expressions while Yamato blushed at the sudden shift in conversation. "... Ma'am?"

"They're both too young for me, but they're not bad, right?" Umi continued, clearly enjoying the other three's reactions. "They're both quite sulky, but Genji has the refined air of an Eastern gentleman while Richard's got that exotic foreigner look… I think they'd both be pretty rough with you in bed, though! Hahahaha!"

Yamato's blush deepened as she looked anywhere but at the two rear admirals, and Umi continued to laugh as Drake and Genji sat there in bewilderment.

Genji, the first to recover, shook his head as he stood up. "See, Fleet Admiral, this is why we needed Admiral Hayama here to control your drinking."

The Japanese rear admiral walked away, and Drake decided he should follow suit.

"Uh, yeah… Have a nice night, you two," he said as he stood up, also avoiding their eyes as he was sure that he was blushing as well.

"Prudes!" Umi yelled at them between her bouts of laughter as Drake and Genji went off elsewhere.

 _Maybe I won't get drunk tonight after all,_ Drake thought as he walked through the ballroom. He tried searching for Kaga or someone else he knew, but he didn't see anyone in his vicinity, so he just continued to wander aimlessly through the throngs of people.

As he was walking, he suddenly felt a weight on his shoulder, and he turned to see a woman with slightly unkempt silver hair and a scar on her left cheek. She was wearing a long gray dress, and she grinned at him as she drew uncomfortably close to his face. Drake could smell the alcohol on her breath, and though he tried to inch away, the iron grip she had on him prevented him from doing so. Her strength combined with her incredible beauty made it obvious that she was a ship girl.

" _Dobbryvecherr_ ," she slurred, clearly in a language other than English. Drake thought it sounded like it was some Slavic dialect, so he assumed she was the Russian ship girl he heard about.

"Uh, hello," he managed, still trying to subtly pry himself free. "Can I help you?"

"Ah, English," she said, now speaking Drake's language but with a heavy Russian accent and a slight slur. "What country are you frommmm?"

"America," Drake answered, cringing a bit at the strong scent of alcohol that was right up in his nose. "Are you Russian?"

The ship girl's reddish-brown eyes glinted in excitement. "Oooh, an American? Hello! I am Gangut, the Russian battleship! Good to meet you!"

"I'm Rear Admiral Richard Drake of the US Liberation Navy," Drake introduced. "Uh, nice to meet you, Gangut. Could you get off me now, please?"

Gangut only drew closer to him as her grin widened.

 _I hope no one is looking at us right now,_ Drake thought as he feebly tried to distance himself from the clearly-drunk ship girl.

"You are cute, like a wolf cub," Gangut concluded.

"Thanks, I guess…" Drake finally managed to free himself from her grasp a bit. "Shouldn't you, uh, be with your admiral?"

Gangut frowned angrily. "My admirals left me here. They flew back to Russia on some 'important business.' They said, 'Gangut, go to ball tomorrow and represent the Motherland. We will see you next day.'"

"Oh. Well, don't drink too much," Drake cautioned as he quickly hurried away.

 _God, why is everyone here trying to get drunk out of their minds?_ Drake lamented as he made his way over to the balcony, deciding to get some fresh air. However, to his surprise he saw Yamato already there, looking out onto the London streets below. He thought about walking away, but he couldn't help but be captivated by her graceful beauty… Drake knew it was probably a bad idea, but he also knew he would be kicking himself later if he didn't at least _try_ and talk to her. He also didn't want Yamato to be stuck with the wrong impression of him that Fleet Admiral Umi gave her.

"Good evening, Yamato," Drake greeted in Japanese.

Yamato turned around, blinking in surprise. "Ah… Good evening."

Before Drake could say anything else, a fierce red blush suddenly spread across Yamato's face, and Drake cringed as he knew what she must be thinking about.

"U-um, excuse me, but I think the Fleet Admiral is calling for me," Yamato hurriedly said as she began walking away.

Drake sighed internally as he shoved his hands in his pockets in defeat. _Great. Thanks, Umi._

"Yo, Dick! Lookin' sharp!"

Drake looked to see Fleet Admiral Boston standing in front of the doors to the balcony, also dressed in a tuxedo. He waved to Drake with a grin, then noticed Yamato, whose exit he was unknowingly blocking.

"Oh damn, was I interrupting something?" he asked, his grin growing even wider.

"Not really," Drake quickly answered as Yamato only blushed even harder. "You just got here, sir?"

"Yeah, you know how Cassius wasn't here yesterday?"

Drake nodded. To think of it, he had seen Saratoga and Iowa at INFCOM, but Fleet Admiral Cassius, who supposedly accompanied them to London, was nowhere to be seen.

"Well, he was dealing with some emergency business back in the States," Boston informed his subordinate. "It was pretty hilarious, actually. The moment he got off his boat at Portsmouth, he got a call forcing him to fly back to the US, ha! Old bastard was pissed!"

"I hope you know I can hear you, Boston," Cassius said in a disapproving tone as he appeared behind Boston. The gray-haired fleet admiral was also dressed in a tuxedo. "Rear Admiral Drake. It's been a while."

"Sir," Drake greeted with a salute.

"Yeah, so as I was saying, we were busy with some shit that went down on the East Coast," Boston continued. "Yo, Cassius, where is she?"

Cassius glanced behind him and gestured to someone, and a woman in a light blue dress stepped out from behind the fleet admiral. She had blonde, fluffy hair styled into twintails, and her blue eyes cautiously regarded Drake.

"This is the USS _Gambier Bay_ , a light carrier," Cassius explained. "Radar detected her sailing aimlessly by one of our naval bases on the East Coast a couple days ago, which is why I was called back to the US. She's still new to this world, but we decided it was best to bring her here after a brief orientation since Iowa and Saratoga are also here and the conference will explain the Abyssal threat, so she could learn more by coming here than staying back there."

"S-sir!" the new ship girl saluted Drake as she stepped up to him. "CVE-73, Gambier Bay, reporting for duty!"

Drake couldn't help but smile as he returned her salute. The addition of a new American ship girl was definitely very good news. "Welcome to the fleet."

Gambier Bay shakily returned his smile, but when her gaze found Yamato, who was still awkwardly waiting for the American admirals to move so that she could leave, her eyes grew wide in horror. She quickly hid herself behind Drake with a squeal of fright, and Drake glanced at the light carrier and Yamato with a confused look.

"Uh… You two know each other?" he asked.

"Gambier Bay was believed to be sunk by the combined efforts of Choukai and Yamato back in World War II," Cassius filled in. "So yes."

"But we're allies now, right? Don't worry, I won't hurt you…" Yamato tried to reassure the frightened carrier, but Gambier Bay merely peeked her head out from behind Drake very briefly before hiding behind him again.

 _The girls sure are all over me today, huh?_ Drake thought sarcastically.

Luckily, Cassius was there to save him. "Come, Gambier Bay. We still have much to discuss with Saratoga and Iowa."

The light carrier was all too eager to get away from Yamato, so she quickly followed Cassius back into the ballroom. Yamato hurriedly excused herself as well, avoiding Drake's eyes again and making sure to stay out of the American light carrier's way too. Drake and Boston also headed back inside, where they saw a few more people arriving at the entrance of the ballroom. To Drake's surprise, it was his cousin, Lira, and his uncle. Lira's father was a rich, stout man with tan skin and golden hair, and he had a thick but regal blond beard and moustache. His tuxedo was noticeably more lustrous than the average attendee's, and he walked around with an air of superiority about him.

"Ugh," Boston spat in disgust as he noticed them entering. "Avoid that guy, Dick. He's a real pain in the ass."

Drake smirked. "Yeah, that's for sure. He's my uncle."

Boston did a double-take. "Oh, shit, I forgot about that, haha! Unlucky bastard!"

"Yeah…"

Though he was an admiral in the Royal Navy, Drake's uncle, Sir Reginald Snowbrook, was notorious for being a pompous elitist, as well as a bit of a racist as well. Since Drake's mother was half Indian and half descended from an amalgamation of Central Asian lineages, Drake himself was not a pure-blooded Englishman like his father and Sir Reginald, so Reginald was not very fond of Drake. All in all, his uncle sort of reminded Drake of Bismarck, except with all of her bad traits but none of her good ones.

The rear admiral then noticed that his uncle and cousin had another person with them.

"Who's that little girl?" Drake asked.

Boston raised his eyebrows. "They brought a little girl to a ball? Must mean it's a ship girl. No wonder that blond bastard was gone for the past couple days. I'm gonna check it out."

Drake was curious as well, so he followed along. Boston then turned to him with a devious smile.

"I always try to act extra hood around Admiral Snowbrook 'cause I know it annoys the shit outta him, so don't mind me."

 _Does this guy have to troll everyone he meets?_ Drake wondered as they approached the British trio.

"Yo, what's good, nigga!" Boston yelled in greeting.

Admiral Reginald Snowbrook frowned deeply. "Boston… I see Richard is here as well. I suppose the rabble naturally draw to each other, eh?"

"Uncle," Drake greeted with a smirk and a shallow, mocking bow. He then shifted his gaze to Lira, who merely rolled her eyes at Drake and Boston's antics.

"Who's the tyke?" Boston asked, pointing to the small blonde girl who wore a white dress.

"I am Her Majesty's Ship, Jervis! And I am older than you, sir, so show some respect, please!" she said cutely, pouting a bit.

"She's a destroyer we found a few days ago," Lira elaborated. "This is what I meant when I said I was busy, Richard."

"Oh? Cool," he said, resisting the urge to squish the British destroyer's cheeks. "We also found a ship girl a couple days ago. Coincidence?"

"I thought it was obvious at this point that groups of them seem to appear at the same time," Snowbrook stated condescendingly. "I hear the Russians also mysteriously left a few days ago as well."

Boston then nodded as if he had just remembered something. "Oh, yeah, my nigga Wei also said that he found some bitch that looked like she might be a ship girl on the West Coast, but we weren't sure if that nigga was bein' serious or just bein' his usual dumbass self, so we kinda just ignored his ass."

 _Another American ship girl?_ If that were true, then the US Kancolle forces just doubled. Either way, the addition of new ship girls was certainly a big help in the fight against the Abyssals. If only they could summon them on command instead of randomly waiting for them to appear somewhere in the ocean… But Drake knew that was impossible given how little they knew about the origin of the ship girls.

"At any rate, we do not need you cretins corrupting our ships," Snowbrook decided. "Come, Jervis. We are leaving to join the rest of our comrades."

"Yo, come on. Get that stick outta yo ass, nigga," Boston teased with a grin.

Snowbrook fixed him with a hard, disapproving look. "Even in this sort of formal setting, you still cannot be bothered to show any sense of decency, can you, Boston? And you, Richard, I knew you were low, but you'll only stoop even lower by hanging around his sort. Frankly, I am shocked that Bismarck is able to stand being around you and the Japanese."

Drake couldn't help but grin as well. "Oh, she can _more_ than stand being around me, if you know what I mean."

Snowbrook gave them both another disgusted look before ushering the British destroyer off, who undoubtedly didn't leave with a good impression of Drake and Boston either considering the both of them were purposely acting like retards just to annoy Snowbrook.

Drake and Boston held back laughter as Lira sighed.

"You know, maybe he wouldn't dislike you two as much as he does if you didn't constantly provoke him…"


	21. INFCOM IV

Shoukaku stood on the airfield at the Tokyo Bay Naval Base where a plane from America had just landed. Her sister, Zuikaku, waited beside her, though the twintailed carrier wore an annoyed expression and had one hand on her hip, her demeanor suggesting that she would rather be somewhere else.

Zuikaku yawned as she watched a group of people disembark from the plane. "Did we really need to come out here to greet them?"

" _You_ didn't need to do anything," Shoukaku parried. "You chose to accompany me, remember?"

"Yeah, because I didn't want you meeting a bunch of strange men on your own!" Zuikaku defended.

Shoukaku giggled softly. "You know very well that they couldn't hurt me even if they wanted to, Zuikaku."

"Hmph."

The two carriers waited as the men (and one woman) got their gear in order and approached. There were five of them, and they were all dressed in sleek black military combat uniforms. They sort of reminded Shoukaku of scuba divers with guns, though they wore bulletproof vests as well and they lacked the flippers. They each dragged a small suitcase behind them, and the man who Shoukaku assumed was the leader waved a hand in greeting. He was tall and of a similar build to her own admiral, though he had long, messy blond hair and wore a pair of aviator shades which covered his eyes.

The man gave a low whistle as he spotted Shoukaku and Zuikaku. "Wow! What a welcoming party!"

"I already hate this guy," Zuikaku whispered to Shoukaku in Japanese.

Shoukaku ignored her sister as she saluted the man. "Hello. Are you Commander Keats?"

"That's me all right," he grinned. "You must be Shoe-kakoo, right?"

"It's Shoukaku, sir," the white-haired carrier corrected with a hint of amusement in her tone.

"Fuck, my bad, haha! Anyway, as you know, I'm Commander John Keats. You can call me John, Keats, or Commander Keats, I don't really care."

Keats then went on to introduce the other members of his team.

Shoukaku nodded once they finished. "I am Shoukaku, aircraft carrier in the Imperial Japanese Navy. This is my sister, Zuikaku."

Zuikaku merely grunted as an acknowledgement to her introduction.

Shoukaku gave her sister a short, disapproving look, but she quickly turned back and smiled at the SEAL team. "Well then, please follow us, and we will show you where you will be staying for the next couple of days."

The two aircraft carriers led the American squad to one of the apartment buildings on the base that housed the regular sailors who worked there. The apartment building had some extra space, so the rooms had been lent to the SEALS, who would only need to be there for a few nights anyway. After the men put their carry-on bags inside their rooms, they returned to Shoukaku and Zuikaku, who were waiting outside (the latter not so patiently).

"Now, we can show you the rest of the base's facilities -"

Keats cut Shoukaku off. "Nah, fuck that. Might as well get started now, right? Assuming you girls are up for it."

Shoukaku shared a glance with Zuikaku, who shrugged. "Um… Are you not tired from your flight? Are you sure you don't want to visit the cafeteria or one of the other stores on the base?"

Keats shook his head. "Won't be a problem. We had something to eat before we flew over, and a long flight's nothing compared to the conditions we're used to. So, what do you say?"

"Well… I _did_ order the fleet to gather by the Equipment Building so you could meet them, so I suppose we could start now," Shoukaku said.

"Cool, let's go," Keats breezily replied, then turned to his four other comrades. "You guys all right with that?"

They rest of the SEALs gave their approval as well, so the group continued on, with Shoukaku and Zuikaku once again leading them, this time to the large building on the beach which housed the ship girls' equipment. They entered the structure and found the fourteen remaining ship girls in Drake's fleet waiting around in the lobby, talking among themselves or just milling about in boredom. They quickly stopped and saluted when they noticed Shoukaku, Zuikaku, and the SEAL team approaching, though.

"Woah, you ship girls really are something else," Keats chuckled as he returned the salute.

"This is Commander Keats and his men," Shoukaku told the fleet. "As per the Admiral's orders, they will be taking charge of our training for the next few days. If nobody has any issues, then we will start now."

The rest of the ship girls looked at each other, some of them in confusion and others with apprehension, but none of them protested, so Shoukaku continued.

"All right, then. Commander Keats, I will leave the rest to you."

"Thank you," Keats nodded to Shoukaku as he stepped up. "'Sup, everyone. As you heard, I'm Keats, and the guys behind me are part of my squad. As you also probably know, your Admiral Drake asked me to show you girls a thing or two in the time that he's gone, so prepare yourselves."

"That sounds sort of lewd," Murasame whispered to Yamakaze in Japanese with a small chuckle. Yamakaze blushed a deep red as she frowned at her sister.

"This!" Keats continued, swinging his gun off his back and holding it up for the ship girls to see. "Today, you girls are gonna learn how to shoot a gun! Exciting, right?"

None of the ship girls aside from Shoukaku had been told what the training would be about, so they were naturally surprised by this and began muttering among themselves. Even Zuikaku had forgotten to ask her sister what type of training they would be doing, and she had just assumed that it would be more or less the same thing they always did but with the SEALs instead of their admiral.

"What the hell?" Zuikaku said, voicing the majority of the fleet's thoughts out loud. "Why would we ever need to learn how to use a gun like that? I doubt that thing will even scratch an Abyssal!"

Keats shook his head disapprovingly. "Now, now, Zui… What was it again… Ah, fuck it. I'll just call you ZuiZui if that's all right."

"It isn't!"

"Seems like you don't know your naval history, ZuiZui," Keats said. "And here I thought you girls were reincarnations of the famous warships. Don't tell me you've never participated in an amphibious mission?"

"Of course we have!" Zuikaku replied angrily. "But what the hell does that have to do with anything?"

"A ship fighting out on the sea is fine and all, but if she can't also assist the marines or other ground troops, then she's basically confined to the ocean. The water is her home, but it's also her jail cell," Keats said. "Or at least that's how Drake explained it to me…"

Zuikaku still wore a look of disbelief. "You realize this isn't World War II anymore, right? Please explain to me why the _fuck_ we would need to protect ground troops when the Abyssals are entirely sea-based fighters!"

Keats grinned. "That's what you think."

"Huh?! It's a fact!"

"All right, let me try explaining this another way," Keats decided. "As ship girls, you're all basically supersoldiers, whether it be on land or on the sea. Now, we don't really have any land wars going on at the moment, which makes sense given our situation, but what happens if the Abyssals decide to stage an amphibious invasion somewhere? As in, they send out some ships to cover them as a few of them go ashore without their rigging? If they get on land, who's going to stop them? It hurts to say this, but not even the SEALs would stand a chance against the Abyssals, even on land."

"But -"

"Our viability as land-based troops was also validated during our last sortie," Shoukaku told the fleet, interrupting her sister. "Because we now have human bodies instead of simply being warships, the carriers were able to stay on land and out of reach from the enemy while still being able to attack. We were also able to serve as runners to carry our fallen comrades back to safety. Since we have these human bodies, why not take full advantage of them?"

"That also sounded a bit lewd," Murasame grinned as she playfully nudged Yamakaze again.

"It's basically a precautionary measure," Keats added, toting his gun. "What harm could a couple days of basic training do? Besides, don't you think it'd be cool to shoot one of these babies?"

"Hell yeah!" Kiso yelled.

"That's the enthusiasm I like!" Keats nodded as he pointed at the light cruiser. "Not sure why you're so against this, ZuiZui."

"Don't fucking call me that! But I guess I'm not really _against_ the idea…"

"Then it's settled!" Keats concluded. "So I'm assuming this is the building where Drake said there was a shooting range in the basement…?"

Shoukaku nodded, then led the SEALs and the rest of the fleet down a flight of stairs and onto the lower level of the Equipment Building. They then continued down a hallway until they reached a fairly large gun range. The range was bare of any personnel, though there were plenty of boxes of various types of ammo and weapons. Drake had told Shoukaku that since the Tokyo Bay Base was modeled after a lot of US bases, they also built a gun range in the Equipment Building like they did in America. However, most of the IJN sailors didn't own guns, so the base didn't bother stationing any staff there. Really the only person who used the gun range was Drake, and even then only occasionally.

"Okay, we can work with this," Keats nodded as he took in the fairly large shooting range. "First of all, does anyone know anything about guns?"

"Yeah! You shoot people with them!" Sendai shouted as she made shooting motions with her hands.

"Uh… You're not wrong, I guess," Keats grinned. "That's not really what I meant, though. None of you has ever shot a gun before, I'm guessing?"

The ship girls shook their heads.

"So we're starting from scratch," the SEAL commander assumed. "Eh, whatever. So, first let me show you girls the basics, like how to reload, clean the weapon, proper aiming and grip technique, that sort of shit."

With the assistance of his squad mates, Keats spent the next forty-five minutes or so basically introducing the concept of firearms to the ship girls, who were much more used to dealing with big naval guns. He went through the procedure with his M16A3 rifle and his M9 sidearm, but then realized that the stock guns they had in the range were different, so he did it with those as well. He then fired a few shots off at the targets, and was surprised to find that the ship girls didn't flinch at all from the sound and did not not require any ear protection, most likely due to their ability to fight at sea and among much bigger guns.

"All right," he concluded once he finished his demonstration. "Now it's your turn. Anyone wanna volunteer for the rest of the class first? How 'bout you, Show-kackoo?"

Ignoring the butchering of her name once again, Shoukaku nodded and stepped up. As the one in charge now that her admiral and secretary ship were away, she figured she might as well go first. Commander Keats handed her one of the stock rifles, something he told them was called a 'Type 89 AR.' She flicked the safety off and set it to semi-automatic like he showed them, then held it up and aimed it downrange.

"Try hitting that target," Keats said, pointing at the human-shaped target downrange. "It's okay if you miss at first, so just do your best!"

Now that she was cleared to fire, Shoukaku took a brief moment to aim before firing the rifle. The recoil was easily managed by her ship strength, and her constant archery training made her aim sharp. She hit the dead center of the target with her first shot, then fired a few more times, either hitting the target right in the bullseye or somewhere very close to it. When she finished, she reloaded the rifle with impressive speed and then turned back to Keats.

The commander stood there with his mouth open. "Uh… Wow. You girls sure learn fast, huh?"

"It's a good weapon," Shoukaku concluded with a smile as she held up her slightly-smoking rifle.

"I wanna try it too!" Sendai yelled, reaching for the gun.

"Ay, be careful around weapons, all right?" Keats berated the light cruiser, slapping her hand away. "Anyway, yeah, I guess the rest of you should be good to go as well, then. This shooting range is wide enough to allow all of us to shoot at once, but it's not very deep, so you won't get to practice hitting long-ranged targets, sorry. Aside from that, remember the rules, and go for it!"

The rest of the fleet then began practicing their shooting, some of them using the same rifle Shoukaku used while the others used pistols. There were a few other guns available, namely a shotgun and a sniper, but Keats had told everyone to stick to the rifles and pistols for now. The shotgun also looked to be fairly dusty, so Keats assumed that Drake had never bothered using or maintaining it. He decided he might as well clean it himself, so he sat down with the shotgun and the rest of his crew as they watched the ship girls practice. Luckily there were more than enough earmuffs for the SEAL team, so they escaped a deafening by the chorus of shots that rang out through the range.

Meanwhile, the ship girls seemed to be enjoying themselves quite a bit. Yura gave herself an approving smile as she finished off her clip, managing to land every shot either dead center or close to it, just as Shoukaku had done.

"This is sort of fun, isn't it?" she said to Kiso, who was next to her. However, Kiso didn't respond, so Yura looked over to see her fellow light cruiser aiming down the sights of her gun with her only visible eye, an extreme amount of concentration etched into her face.

Kiso noticed Yura's gaze, then turned to her. "Sorry, did'ja say something?"

"U-um, no, not really," Yura replied with a chuckle. "You seem to be deeply focused, though…"

Kiso frowned. "Well, of course. It's only natural that we take our training seriously, right?"

"Y-yeah…"

"I mean… Aren't you disappointed?"

Yura blinked in confusion. "About what?"

"Y'know… Our performance in the last two sorties," Kiso finished, her frown deepening. "The two of us have done literally nothing since we were taken off the reserves. We both got torn a new one by that freak with the mask back at Bethlehem, and I got blasted into oblivion by the Submarine Princess' opening torpedo. From the report I've read, you didn't seem to do much either last sortie."

Yura's expression fell after being reminded of her last two sorties. "… I'm sorry."

"Don't know what you're apologizing for," Kiso said as she turned back downrange. "I'm just saying, that's why I want to put in as much effort as I can from now on… Whatever his reasoning may have been, the Admiral chose us, and we've done nothing but fail so far."

"You two are being rather grim," Amatsukaze noted with a laugh from her position next to Kiso.

Kiso glared at her. "What, you think you're hot shit now 'cause you sunk that Princess, huh?"

Amatsukaze only smiled as she continued to shoot. "No… But you have to admit, it _was_ pretty amazing."

Kiso shook her head in defeat. "Great, just what we need… A destroyer with an inflated ego."

"Um… But the Admiral said that 'everyone contributed' right?" Yura interjected.

"Tch. He probably just doesn't want the rest of the fleet feeling bad," Amatsukaze replied, but then smirked at the two light cruisers. "But no, seriously, I obviously couldn't have sunk her on my own. Everyone did play a role."

"I just hope I get a _bigger_ role next time…" Kiso muttered as she reloaded her weapon.

"We can only work with what we have."

The trio turned around to see Shoukaku standing behind them. She held the lone sniper rifle in one hand, though it didn't appear to be loaded.

The three girls glanced at each other.

"Uh, what?" Kiso asked.

"Oh, my apologies. I was just listening to your conversation," Shoukaku said with a small smile. "What I meant to say was that there is no reason to worry about your past sortie performances. If we did that, then most of us would be kicking ourselves over our many failures. Many of us sank during World War II, remember?"

"Yeah, but… That almost feels like a lifetime ago," Kiso countered. "I'm talking about our sorties as ship girls."

Shoukaku frowned. "So you're telling me you feel no connection to your actions during the War? You don't ever think of those feelings of despair and defeat?"

"I try not to. What's the use? It's just gonna make us depressed," Kiso replied, but then quickly realized that this was Shoukaku's point in the first place. "Uh… Yeah, I guess I see your point, actually."

Shoukaku nodded. "It's good to set high goals for yourself, but don't feel like you have to make up for something just because of what you did in the past. If you're constantly trying to correct past wrongs, then you may just get so caught up in that that you will just end up making even more wrongs in the future."

Kiso sighed. "Tch. Yeah, I s'pose you're right."

The aircraft carrier gave a light laugh. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to come over here and start lecturing you about this. It's just that… Perhaps the reason we lost the War was because we tried to do to much, and I'd rather not see that happen again."

"I agree," Yura nodded, "things will be different this time. We've already had some big victories, right?"

"We had big victories at the start even in World War II. That means nothing," Amatsukaze pessimistically added as she started to aim another shot downrange.

"Wow, thanks for the vote of confidence," Kiso sarcastically spat. "Weren't you just patting yourself on the back a few minutes ago?"

"Heh. Don't get me wrong, the way we sunk the Submarine Princess was amazing… But we won't get that lucky again."

"Lucky?" Yura asked.

Amatsukaze fired a shot before explaining. "Yeah, the Abyssals were incredibly overconfident, and that's the biggest reason we won. Because of their victory at Bethlehem, they didn't bother doing shit when our UAVs came and took pictures of their exact formation, and the Battleship Princess or whatever literally told the Admiral that they sortied a Submarine Princess underwater. Also, they only sent one Princess, and a large portion of our fleet still got wrecked. We're lucky that no one took any headshots or sunk too far down."

"... Did the Admiral tell you all that?" Yura wondered.

"No," Amatsukaze scoffed. "It's not like we can't figure this stuff out on our own. I mean, it was pretty obvious that our victory wasn't as amazing as everyone thinks. I'm sure you two both know that as well, but you just don't want to believe it… So it's pointless to try and pretend like everything is going fine. No offense, Shoukaku."

"Well, that wasn't _quite_ what I meant," the carrier replied. "I said that you shouldn't focus too much on past failures, not that you should just ignore everything bad… Admittedly, those are valid issues you brought up, but what else can we do but move forward and be prepared to face an even stronger enemy next time? Being overly-negative won't help, I can assure you."

Amatsukaze shrugged. "Hey, I'm just trying to be realistic, not 'overly-negative.' Take it how you will, I guess."

Kiso and Yura eventually turned back to their own practice as well, and Shoukaku absently shifted the sniper rifle in her arms as she thought about Amatsukaze's words.

 _It's true… I don't expect things to get any easier from now on. Admiral, Kaga… I hope you two have a plan._

* * *

Drake glanced around the large, newly-built conference room in the Ritz Hotel. It was probably around the same size as the ballroom he was in last night, and it damn well needed to be since there were a lot of people there. It sort of reminded him of a slightly bigger version of the UN's Security Council meeting room, and there was a large, circular table in the center of the room where the INFCOM admirals and ship girls would be seated. Most of the foreign dignitaries or members of other navies were seated further back away from the table, though they could still easily hear and see what was going on. A majestic podium stood at the head of the room, just in case anyone needed to make a speech or something.

The rear admiral was dressed in his standard white USLN uniform, and the ship girls wore their own regular uniforms. Even Iowa was wearing her rather provocative outfit which looked out of place in a formal setting like this, but Drake supposed INFCOM wanted everyone to be in uniform, and that _was_ technically Iowa's uniform.

Speaking of Iowa, the American battleship was already seated at the table, and she waved cheerily at him. For the conference, each person was expected to sit with his or her own country, so Drake would be sitting with the Americans while Kaga and Shigure went with the Japanese. Bismarck was already with the Germans, and Drake had no doubt that she was glad to be rid of him and his Japanese girls.

Seated next to Iowa was Saratoga and the new light carrier, Gambier Bay. She now wore her regular uniform, though her skittish disposition didn't seem to have changed since yesterday. Even in the company of her more veteran comrades, she still appeared to be nervous, and she especially avoided looking at the Japanese delegation.

After they got back to HQ last night, Drake had received word that Fleet Admiral Wei did indeed encounter another US ship girl, now known to them as the aircraft carrier Intrepid. Intrepid had been found near the West Coast, so they didn't bother flying her all the way over to London, but her discovery was still good news. Drake himself had seen the warship USS _Intrepid_ a few times before when he went to New York City, and it was weird to think that the very ship he saw anchored in NYC had now become an undoubtedly beautiful girl with unprecedented destructive capabilities. He wondered what would happen if Intrepid were to go aboard her warship self, then remembered that Iowa was also a museum ship.

"Have any of you ever been aboard the USS _Iowa_?" Drake asked the three ship girls as he sat down beside Saratoga.

"Yeah! It was weird!" Iowa nodded. "I don't really know how to explain it… Imagine yourself walking on top of a huge version of your corpse, I guess."

"That does sound weird," Drake agreed.

Drake then felt somebody tap him on the shoulder, so he turned around to see a woman with wavy dark brown hair, light tan skin, and a hazel eye, singular because one of her eyes was covered by an eyepatch. She wore what looked like some sort of naval officer's uniform, so Drake guessed she was an admiral from somewhere. Behind her was another woman, though this one had light brown hair tied into a ponytail, and judging by the way she dressed, she was a ship girl.

"Pardon me, but are you Rear Admiral Richard Drake?" the black-haired woman asked, her voice marked by a slight accent.

"Yeah…" Drake replied a bit cautiously.

The woman's face lit up. " _Meravigliosa_! I have been wanting to meet you for quite some time now. It is an honor."

Drake could now guess that she was Italian, but he still had no idea who she was or why she was so eager to see him. "Right… Sorry, do I know you?"

"Ah, that's right. My apologies. I am Ammiraglio di Squadra, Paola Veronese. The fine lady behind me is Littorio, battleship in the Regia Marina."

The ship girl bowed lightly as she was introduced, and Drake nodded back. However, he still didn't know if this admiral expected him to know her or not.

"I see. Nice to meet you both," Drake said, "but I'm sorry, I still don't recall having heard your names before."

Veronese smiled at him. "It is no big matter, Admiral Drake. I did not expect you to know of me… But can you guess where I lost this eye?"

Drake glanced at her eyepatch, wondering how the hell could possibly know the answer to that. However, it then struck him.

"... Tangier," he said.

Veronese smiled again, though this time, there was no warmth behind it. "Yes. I see you still remember that day as well."

Now that he thought about it, he did recall that there was an Italian warship that escaped the battle in addition to the remnants of the fleet Drake was in. Since he didn't really like thinking about Tangier, Drake never really followed up on that, and he sort of let it fall out of his mind. This woman seemed to be more mindful than he was, though, and now he felt sort of bad that she knew who he was by sight but he didn't even recognize her name.

"Yeah, I do remember now," Drake said. "Sorry."

"No need to apologize. It was you who came up with the idea that got us out of there alive, was it not? I merely followed along once I recognized what you Americans were planning to do."

Drake's eyes darkened. "Yeah, well… It certainly wasn't the best strategy, but it was all I had."

Veronese's expression turned grim as well, since she knew exactly what he was thinking about. "All those who participated share the burden of that day, Admiral Drake. Those many innocent lives that we traded for our own… I have no doubt that we will one day pay for them, but for now, it is our duty to destroy the Abyssals who were the root of all this pain, no?"

Drake nodded, glad that she shared his same mindset. "Agreed."

"Good. Well, it appears the conference will start soon, so we must get back to our seats. But it was nice to finally meet you in person, Admiral Drake. _Addio_."

With that, the Italians returned to their place in the conference hall. Drake stared at the table in front of him, his eyes boring into the wood. However, he snapped back to his senses once he remembered that the American ship girls were sitting right next to him and probably overheard that entire conversation. Sure enough, when he looked over next to him, he caught Saratoga quickly averting her eyes when he turned his gaze on her. None of the Americans said anything, so Drake didn't say anything either. However, Gambier Bay, being new to the fleet, was understandably confused.

"U-um… What does 'Tangier' refer to?" she asked meekly, then squeaked in fright when the other three gave her dark looks.

"It was a battle relatively early on in the Abyssal War," Drake informed her, mentally kicking himself as he tried not to think of the battle too much. "It basically showed the world's navies that conventional ships didn't stand a chance against the Abyssals, and that we could really only hope for victory with the help of you ship girls."

He didn't say anymore than that, though Gambier Bay probably got the gist of the situation now.

"Oh... Thank you, sir," she replied in a small voice. "Tangier was also the name of a seaplane tender, r-right?"

Drake glanced over at Saratoga and Iowa, who nodded.

"Really? I didn't know that. Interesting." He wondered how he would feel if she got reincarnated as a ship girl, though the warship _Tangier_ had nothing to do with the actual battle.

"Ah, could this be the infamous Iowa-class?"

Drake looked up to see Nagato approach the Americans, her red eyes fixed on Iowa.

"That's me!" Iowa greeted enthusiastically. "Who're you?"

"Nagato, battleship in the Imperial Japanese Navy," she proudly introduced. She then noticed Saratoga and Drake beside Iowa, and she nodded to them. "Saratoga, Admiral Drake. Good to see you."

Drake gave her a lazy salute while Saratoga smiled at her. The rear admiral remembered that Saratoga had also been one of the ships present at the Able and Baker nuclear tests, so her familiarity with Nagato made sense.

Iowa stood up to observe Nagato. They both were of a similar height and build.

"Hm? You look pretty strong!" Iowa concluded as she grabbed Nagato's bicep, causing the other battleship to blink in surprise. "Nice muscles! Wanna have an arm-wrestling match?"

"Arm… Wrestling?" Nagato frowned, now taken off-guard at how the American was willing to engage in such a contest right before an important conference and in front of the world's dignitaries.

"Yeah! I've even beaten Captain Drake before!"

Nagato smirked at Drake. "Oh? Is that true, Admiral? Even a big guy like you was defeated by the Iowa-class' horsepower?"

Drake sighed. "Even a destroyer could beat me in a contest of strength…"

"Don't be so hard on yourself, Captain!" Iowa tried to cheer him up as she slapped him on the back, causing him to lurch forward. "Maybe you would've won if you weren't drunk, haha!"

Nagato raised an eyebrow. "Admiral Drake and you got drunk together…?"

"It's not what it sounds like…" Drake assured her as he winced from Iowa's slap.

"Nah, it's exactly what it sounds like," Iowa grinned mischievously as she slung an arm around Drake's shoulder. "You jealous, Miss IJN Battleship?"

"Not really, but now it sounds like you're challenging me," Nagato grinned with excitement as she cracked her knuckles. "Truth be told, I've always wanted to spar with the Iowa-class, who were said to be the best American battleships ever built. I wonder if that's true?"

"Hmph. I'd love to prove it to you!" Iowa responded as she too smiled in anticipation.

"Um, you two aren't seriously going to fight right now, are you?" Saratoga asked with a nervous chuckle.

Nagato coughed into her fist as she remembered where she was. "Oh, yes. Forgive me. We'll save this for another time, Iowa."

Iowa nodded. "Looking forward to it!"

"... She's scary," Gambier Bay noted as Nagato returned to the Japanese delegation.

"Really? She's always seemed pleasant to me," Drake said. "Though, then again, a Japanese warship didn't sink me, so…"

"I think she is nice," Saratoga added. "Even during the nuclear tests… She stood so calm and majestic. Though she was a former enemy, I felt strengthened by her resolve."

 _Definitely sounds like Nagato,_ Drake thought.

The rest of the admirals and ship girls finally arrived at their positions, and a few minutes later, once everyone was seated, the conference started. The nominal head of INFCOM was a British admiral of the fleet, Lord Lockhaert. Lockhaert was a tall, smiling man with gray hair and sharp blue eyes, and though he appeared friendly and approachable enough, he had seen his fair share of duty throughout his career. He had been chosen to be an admiral of the fleet by the new queen herself, and that led some to speculate that he had a hand in bringing her to power during the Great Churning. Nevertheless, Lord Lockhaert was a capable enough man to wield the position, though in reality, INFCOM was run by committee rather than by one person. The head of INFCOM didn't really have any special powers, and the only time when he had any extra significance was in situations like this, where he was needed to begin the conference.

And so Admiral Lockhaert said a few words about how he was grateful that everyone was here and blah blah blah… Drake wasn't really paying too much attention, and he honestly thought that the entire conference was a waste of time. The conference was basically just meant as a summary of the Abyssal War, crafted for the officials and countries who didn't have as much of an idea of the day-to-day activities of INFCOM. However, as much as he wished he could just tune out the conference, Drake figured that he might eventually be called on for something considering that he was at Tangier and that he was the only admiral so far who sunk an Abyssal Princess. The possibility of being called on and having to present his progress to a room full of important foreign people was a pain, but it at least prevented him from straight up falling asleep in the middle of the meeting.

However, as it turned out, Drake wasn't called on at all, and he actually wasn't even mentioned by name. Though he felt a bit annoyed at being left out completely, he at least didn't have to say anything anymore, so he laid back in his seat and just waited for the conference to end. Lockhaert had moved on to taking questions from everyone, and there would now be a sort of open discussion. Drake spared a glance at the Americans beside him. Saratoga and Gambier Bay were politely still sitting through the conference, trying to pay attention, but Iowa was resting her cheek on her fist and clearly struggling to remain awake.

"I want to know what we should do next," a Chinese admiral (whose name Drake did not remember) spoke up during the discussion. "If there are still thirteen Abyssal Princesses out there, what is stopping them from gathering together and eliminating us one by one? I've read the reports, and it's clear to me that this Admiral Drake or whoever just got lucky with his sortie, and that he ran into extremely favorable conditions. A victory like that is unlikely to happen again."

Drake quickly composed himself once he heard his name, and after the Chinese admiral was done speaking, he noticed that a lot of the people seated at the table were looking in his direction.

 _Are they expecting me to defend myself or something…?_

Truth be told, he couldn't disagree with the Chinese admiral. In fact, it was the exact opposite: he really _did_ get quite lucky with the last sortie.

Drake figured he should say something regardless, since everyone was looking at him. "Leave the worrying to people who actually do the hard work, Admiral."

The Chinese admiral gave Drake a look of disbelief, and Drake internally screamed at himself as he realized that he had probably been a bit too cavalier with that comment.

"Haha! Exactly!" Iowa agreed with a nod, finally snapping out of her drowsiness. "America will lead the world to victory! The rest of you can just follow behind!"

 _Good god, you're only making this worse,_ Drake mentally lamented as he regretted saying anything in the first place. He turned to his left to gauge the reactions of his superiors, and he saw Boston hiding an amused grin while Cassius wore a stern frown.

An Australian admiral (whose name Drake also didn't recall) then made her comment. "As much as we appreciate your… Bravado, neither of you answered the question. That tells us nothing."

"But truly there is nothing we can do," Fleet Admiral Umi cut in with her accented English. "Anyone who has been paying any attention to the Abyssal War knows this. The enemy does not have naval bases that we can attack, and they do not have towns or cities either. How are we possibly supposed to take the fight to them? That is why the Abyssals have been the ones who started all the engagements thus far."

"So you are saying we simply wait for them to attack us, and then we defend?" the Chinese admiral summarized with a dissatisfied tone.

Umi shrugged. "That is what we have been doing so far, no?"

"Pardon me, but this is idiotic," France's Grand Admiral Sartre interjected. "The notion that we should simply wait to be destroyed does not sit well with me. The Abyssals attacked the American city of Los Angeles a while ago. What if they had sent a fleet of Princesses instead of that meager force they actually sortied? What would be the fate of Los Angeles if that had happened?"

"Their Princesses are needed to guard Bethlehem, so they won't be sortieing anywhere like that," Umi pointed out. "That is why I said the Abyssals have no naval bases despite the fact that they have Bethlehem. With the presence of the Princesses there, we cannot hope to assault it."

"That's ridiculous," Vice Admiral Ehrhard spoke up. "You're saying that with all the weaponry and resources our combined countries have, we _still_ can't attack this 'Bethlehem'?"

"What, you want us to nuke it or something?" Drake asked, smirking at Ehrhard and Bismarck as well, since she had suggested just that earlier.

Ehrhard glared at him. "Why not? Might as well put your oversized nuclear arsenal to use."

Fleet Admiral Cassius sighed. "That's going to be a no from us. First of all, we won't be able to get a plane or missile close enough to Bethlehem due to the structure's unprecedented anti-air capabilities. Second, we don't even know if a nuke will be able to destroy Bethlehem. Finally, launching nuclear weapons is not something we take lightly, for obvious reasons. Firing a nuke at Bethlehem would not be wise."

" _Kanmusu_ are the only ones who can attack Bethlehem," Umi then said. "But we are not prepared to send them out there again after what happened last time. It will only end in disaster."

"Kanmusu?" Ehrhard repeated.

"Ship girls," Nagato translated.

"Speaking of 'ship girls,'" Umi continued, "We at the Japanese bases would like to know why there are so many of them being squandered here in the Atlantic. When was the last time the Atlantic faced an Abyssal attack?"

"Well, Abyssals make runs at merchant shipping occasionally," Lockhaert said.

"That is only occasionally, and based on the reports I have read, most of the time the Abyssals either disappear or sink the merchant ship before the ship girls get there. Is that correct?"

Nobody answered her, which pretty much affirmed what she had said.

"Even so, we can't leave Europe undefended," Cassius decided. "What if the Abyssals decide to attack once they've learned we've redeployed our ship girls?"

"But the entire continent of Africa is undefended, and yet the Abyssals do not attack there," Admiral Akwa of the Nigerian Navy countered. Drake remembered his name since he was supposed to be Africa's representative at the table.

"Part of the European fleet's responsibility is to defend Africa, Admiral Akwa," Cassius replied. "Perhaps that is why."

"And what would the Abyssals even want there? It's all sticks and stones, and the Africans are always killing each other anyway," Admiral Reginald Snowbrook scoffed. "No need for the Abyssals to step in if humans can just do their jobs for them."

Akwa shook his head. "Admiral Snowbrook is a perfect example of what is wrong with the global naval community, as well as the political community. You people do not care about the well being of Africa, nor other poor continents and areas like South America or the Middle East. Even if the Abyssals attacked there, your fleet would arrive too late to be of any use. Do you not remember Tangier? How your Western navies were perfectly content to offer up the lives of innocent Africans because it would allow the few ships that were left in your fleets to get out safely?"

Drake grit his teeth in annoyance, partly because he felt personally insulted and partly because he knew Admiral Akwa was speaking the truth.

"Then maybe Africa should get some ship girls of their own," Drake spat, speaking more out of frustration. "Don't complain that the ship girls from Europe are being used to defend Europe. I shouldn't have to explain to you the logic behind that."

"I have to agree with Admiral Drake," Genji added. "Expecting us to waste time defending Africa when the threat is in the Pacific is inane."

Akwa frowned. "And yet Admiral Drake is an American using Japanese ship girls, and you Japanese were just saying exactly what I was, except that the European fleet should come and defend Japan instead of Africa. International Fleet Command is supposed to promote unity, but you all insist on maintaining your nationalistic arrogance, forgetting that the Abyssals will take advantage of that to wipe us out all the same regardless of our skin color or place of birth. I am done here."

With that, the Nigerian admiral walked out of the room, leaving the conference in silence.

Umi was the first to speak. "... He did have a point, but he failed to recognize that we were asking for more ships because the main threat has been proven to be in the Pacific. This is simply a fact, and it is not based on nationalism."

"Right," Lockhaert said, trying to regain control of the conference. "Anyway, going back to our goals for the future, it appears we have decided that the best offense will be a good defense, I suppose. Figuring out a way to destroy Bethlehem will also be high on our priorities, but as for now, our strategy remains the same?"

No one at the table spoke, so Lockhaert awkwardly cleared his throat and decided to conclude the conference.

"All right, then. I suppose that is all… We will notify all of you if anything changes, but for now, thank you for coming, and have a safe trip home."


	22. INFCOM V

"Heh… You see the strength of an IJN battleship now, Iowa?" Nagato said with a smirk as she leaned back in her chair, light beads of sweat trickling down her face.

"You lost, though," Bismarck blankly stated from where she sat with Shigure by the small fountain in the garden area of the INFCOM headquarters.

Also present was Yuudachi, Kongou, and Warspite, and the three of them were seated at another table just behind the one Iowa and Nagato were using for armwrestling. The trio was having a tea party, Kongou taking the lead and being overly-enthusiastic as usual. Warspite smiled patiently at the Japanese battleship, seemingly amused by Kongou's Anglophilic tendencies. Yuudachi just liked to be wherever the most excitement was, so the shouting Kongou naturally attracted her attention.

"She may have lost, but she put up a good fight," Iowa nodded to Nagato. "You were harder to beat than Captain Drake, I'll give you that."

"Like that's even a compliment…" Bismarck noted dryly.

"Yes. Well… I'd like to fight you in a _real_ spar one day," Nagato told Iowa as she wiped off her brow.

"Sure! If you're ready to lose again, that is," Iowa shot back with a determined grin.

"Ha! Don't get overconfident, American!"

"Yeah, yeah," Iowa waved her off. "Hey, Shigure, who do you think would win in a spar, me or Nagato?"

Shigure looked surprised at being called on. "U-um… I don't know."

The destroyer spoke so quietly that Iowa couldn't hear it. "What was that? Hey, could it be that you only speak Japanese? Koneecheewa!"

"Ugh, that's terrible," Bismarck frowned. "Don't tell me you can't speak Japanese?"

Iowa blinked. "Huh? That was wrong?"

"Your pronunciation is off," Nagato informed her.

"Really? Well, damn. Maybe I should ask Captain Drake to teach me!"

Nagato smiled. "I'm not sure if you want him teaching you…"

"Why not?"

"Well… He has an… Interesting way of speaking Japanese," was how Nagato chose to put it. "He never uses honorifics with anyone, and he refers to everyone as ' _kisama_ ,' even people like Fleet Admiral Miiro."

Iowa tapped her chin in thought. "I'm not sure if I get it…"

"Er, I guess you could interpret it as a rude way of speaking," Nagato clarified. "But I don't think he intends it that way. Maybe he doesn't know exactly what he's saying…"

"Oh," Iowa nodded. "But as long as his pronunciation is fine, then he can still teach me, right?"

"You're better off reading a book and learning it on your own," Bismarck said. "That's what I did, at least."

"Whaaa? But that sounds hard!"

Bismarck sighed. "Have you ever tried it, or are you just saying that? Languages come easily to ship girls. I learned English and Japanese very quickly."

Nagato nodded. "It was also rather simple for me to learn English as well. I'm sure learning Japanese won't be hard for you if you put your mind to it, Iowa."

Iowa pouted. "Yeah… My superiors told me I have to learn Japanese anyway, so I guess there's no choice…"

"Why are they making you learn Japanese?" Nagato asked, curious.

"Most of the ship girls in existence right now are Japanese, so I guess that's why," Iowa assumed.

"Hmm… But almost all of us Japanese can speak English."

Iowa scratched her head in annoyance. "Jeez, I don't know, okay? All they said was that I have to learn it, and judging by what you all are saying, I don't think that's going very well…"

"What's not going very well?" Yuudachi asked, suddenly appearing behind Iowa's chair and making the American jump.

"J-just talking about my efforts to learn Japanese," Iowa responded. "When'd you get there…"

"Oh! I can teach you!" the blonde destroyer cheerily volunteered. "Say, 'Ohayou!'"

"Ohio?" Iowa repeated, confused. "Huh. Never knew the state was named after a Japanese word."

"That's… Probably not it," Nagato said with an amused smile.

"It means good morning, poi!" Yuudachi shouted.

"What the hell does 'poi' mean?" Iowa then asked.

"Poi means poi!"

"... What?"

"It's just a verbal tic of hers," Shigure said as she grabbed Yuudachi's shoulder in an attempt to calm her sister down. "I guess it would be similar to 'like' in English…"

"Oh, 'like'?" Iowa nodded. "Well, then, I poi you, Shigure!"

"Um, not that kind of like," Shigure nervously chuckled.

"Argh! Japanese is so confusing!" Iowa cried out. "I knew I couldn't do it after all! Hey… Kongou, you can teach me Japanese, right?"

Kongou turned around, seemingly annoyed at having her tea party interrupted. "I'll pass, desu."

"Oooh, what does 'dess' mean?"

"It's… Another verbal tic," Shigure explained again.

Iowa frowned. "Another one? You Japanese are weird."

"Learning Japanese over there, Iowa?" Warspite asked as she sipped on her black tea.

"Trying, but failing," Iowa dismayed. "Can you speak Japanese, Warspite?"

" _Hai_ ," Warspite answered proudly, though there was a bit of an accent present.

Iowa groaned. "Man, so I'm the only one who can't?!"

"What about the other Americans?" Nagato questioned.

"Sara can speak it real nice," Iowa grumbled. "And the only reason Gambier Bay can't is because she just got here. I'm sure she'll surpass me in no time, though."

"Must be hard, being so incompetent," Bismarck smirked.

"Shut up, Nazi."

"Is that supposed to be an insult?"

"It should be."

"You two, please don't fight," Nagato cut in. "Anyway… Where is everybody else? Kaga is supposed to be here too, no?"

"Probably spending time with her beloved Admiral," Bismarck scoffed. "I still can't believe those two ditched us to go on their little art museum date. Right, Shigure?"

"Um…"

"They're on a DATE?!" Iowa shouted as she stood up. "Wow! Who knew the Captain was so bold!"

"Who's on a date?" Kongou asked, her curiosity piqued.

"Captain Drake and Kaga!" Iowa answered with a grin.

"Let's not jump to conclusions," Nagato cautioned.

Iowa whirled on the black-haired battleship. "Oh? I was just joking yesterday, but maybe you really _do_ want the Captain…"

Nagato blushed. "Of course not! This is what I mean by jumping to conclusions!"

"Oooooh? You're turning red though…"

"Anyone would if you make accusations like that!" Nagato feebly denied, crossing her arms and frowning.

"Ahahah!" Iowa laughed merrily as she placed her hands on Nagato's bare shoulders. "So you're saying you don't want Captain Drake's big American you-know-what?"

Nagato's face flushed even harder. "H-how can you say such indecent things!"

"His big American what, poi?" Yuudachi asked innocently.

"Wait!" Kongou stood up too now. "Admiral Drake is doing lewd things with Kaga AND Nagato?!"

"No!" Nagato shouted. "He's not doing anything with either of us! Please stop being ridiculous."

"But how would _you_ know about Kaga?" Iowa pointed out. "You can speak for yourself, I guess, but for all we know, Captain Drake and Kaga are getting to it right now…"

"I assure you, they are not," Nagato shot down, having recovered adequately by now.

"Again, how would you know? Unless you're saying that you and Captain Drake are already together and that he wouldn't cheat on you."

"I am not saying that!"

Bismarck sighed. "Wow, I didn't mean for you all to take my comments so literally…"

Iowa shot another trollish grin at Nagato. "Hey, don't blame me that Nagato got salty over the thought of her boyfriend with someone else."

Nagato blushed again but scowled deeply at that. "Hmph. I won't even bother addressing this nonsense anymore."

Iowa cracked up. "S-sorry, it's just so fun to tease you when you're normally so serious! Hahaha!"

Nagato was still not amused. "How would you like it if I teased you, then?"

"Hey, you've all been roasting my Japanese for the past five minutes. Unlike you, _I_ can actually take a joke."

"But can you take Admiral Drake's big American you-know-what?" Bismarck added with a smirk, causing Iowa to burst into laughter once more.

"Not you too!" Nagato cried in defeat.

A few minutes later, the atmosphere returned its normal, peaceful state. The ship girls continued to lounge around in the garden, enjoying their respite from training and fleet battles. It was another relatively mild day in London, and so they took as much advantage of it as they could since they were not allowed off Headquarters' grounds.

"So, who's the strongest ship girl in Japan?" Iowa then asked.

Nagato blinked. "Um… I haven't really thought of that before. Why do you want to know?"

"So I can spar with her, of course!" Iowa said as if it were obvious. "Is it you, Nagato? You seem pretty strong to me."

"Well… I'm not sure about that. Do you know of Yamato and Musashi?"

Iowa tried to recall the names. "Uh… Oh, yeah! Wait, Yamato was at the conference yesterday, right? And the ball?"

Nagato nodded. "Yes. I would assume those two are the most powerful."

"Really? Apart from her size, she didn't look all that threatening…"

"Looks can be deceiving," Nagato wisely pointed out. "I wonder if even you would be able to defeat Yamato or Musashi."

Iowa grinned in excitement. "So they're that strong, huh? How come they're not here today?"

"Musashi is still in Japan, and Fleet Admiral Umi and Yamato are either back at the hotel or they have already left to return to Japan as well," Nagato provided. "I'm sure you will meet them eventually."

"I'll look forward to it, then," Iowa nodded, then turned to Bismarck. "Hey, Bismarck, where're your Jerry buddies at?"

"I do not babysit them, so I wouldn't know," Bismarck curtly replied. "I don't think they would like you, though. No offense."

"Rude!" Iowa shouted. "Eh, whatever. I'm sure there a loooot of people who don't like me, especially the Japanese girls. Now that I think about it, I'm surprised you don't hate me, Nagato."

"At least before this morning I didn't," Nagato said with a grin. "But in all honesty, I don't see much of a point in holding onto past grudges when there is a new threat we must defeat. Fighting among ourselves will only give the enemy an advantage."

Iowa nodded. "Agreed… What about you two destroyers? Do you feel the same?"

Yuudachi had gone back to join the British tea party, so she was no longer there to answer, but Shigure nodded.

"Yes… I agree with what Nagato said. It's important that we learn to fight together."

"Wow, you Japanese are very mature," Iowa marveled. "Don't you think you should be more like them, Bismarck?"

The German frowned. "Excuse me? Are you calling me immature?"

"I-I'm sure Bismarck shares our feelings as well, even if she doesn't show it," Shigure interjected, remembering her conversation with Bismarck on the Elizabeth Tower.

"Oh? You have to get your Japanese friends to defend you now?" Iowa taunted the other blonde battleship.

Bismarck glared at her. "Keep provoking me, and you'll regret it."

Iowa laughed. "It's a joke, a joke!"

Bismarck rolled her eyes, and Nagato sighed at Iowa's actions. The ship girls then noticed two people enter the garden area, and they saw Kaga and Saratoga stroll in.

"Ah, so this is where you all were," Saratoga said as she and Kaga walked over.

"Yo!" Iowa grinned as she held up a hand in greeting. "So Kaga wasn't with Captain Drake after all? Lucky you, Nagato!"

Kaga raised an eyebrow as Nagato blushed and frowned with frustration.

"Were you all looking for the Admiral?" Kaga asked, still not sure what they were talking about.

Iowa laughed. " _We_ weren't looking for anyone, but Nagato was jealous because she thought that you and Captain Drake were on another date~"

"That's a complete lie!" Nagato quickly denied. "Don't go spreading that to everyone!"

Kaga blinked in confusion. "I… Don't think I understand."

"There's nothing to understand. Our American friend here just thinks it's funny to make inappropriate jokes, that's all," Nagato assured the carrier while glaring at Iowa.

"All right, all right, I'll stop," Iowa said with a smirk as she raised her hands in surrender.

"Iowa, you're supposed to be getting along with them…" Saratoga told her in a disapproving tone.

"I am, jeez! Not my fault the Axis can't take a bit of fun…"

"Iowa…"

"Okay, I'm sorry!"

"But where is the Admiral anyway?" Bismarck then asked. "I thought we were supposed to head back to Japan soon."

"He's with the other American admirals and the new carrier, Gambier Bay," Kaga answered. "It seems they are giving her some sort of brief orientation."

Iowa grinned suggestively at Nagato when she heard that, and the Japanese battleship sighed.

"Oh? How come you two aren't there?" Bismarck wondered, speaking to the two Americans.

Saratoga frowned. "Well… Back at the ball, Iowa and I were supposed to explain things to Gambier Bay first, but then Iowa scared her by talking about how terrifying the Japanese ship girls are… So now the admirals have to do it instead."

Iowa rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. "Heheh… I didn't know she would take me so seriously."

"That one seems easily frightened…" Nagato noted, also referring to the new American carrier.

"She _did_ get fired on by your Yamato, so it's no wonder," Iowa pointed out. "Though Yamato doesn't look so scary in her ship girl form, so maybe Gamby really is just a scaredy-cat."

"Like I said, looks can be deceiving. Yamato may be the most powerful ship girl in existence right now," Nagato countered.

"Yeah, that's why I _really_ want to spar with her," Iowa grinned. "I'll show you all who's actually the best."

"Oh? You'll first need to defeat me, though," Nagato shot back, her fighting spirit flaring up again.

"I just did, though."

"In arm wrestling! That means nothing!"

* * *

Shoukaku lay prone on the ground, her rifle positioned in front of her as she looked down the sights. With a single golden eye open, the aircraft carrier scanned the clearing down in front of her, her own position concealed by some foliage. She was lying on top of a grassy hill which overlooked a deserted part of the beach, and on the other side of the beach clearing was another forested area on top of a cliff. This was where the enemy camp was located, and so she was training her sights on that area, waiting for an unsuspecting adversary to appear. Both hills and camps were parallel to the water, so only a sandy clearing separated Shoukaku from the enemy camp. The ocean waves rocked gently in the distance to her left, providing a soothing soundtrack to her overwatch.

"This is so stupid," Zuikaku muttered from her position beside her sister. The green-haired carrier also carried a gun, though she was frowning heavily as she looked through her sights.

"Don't speak so loudly. You'll give away our position," Shoukaku berated her sister, keeping her eyes on the clearing.

"Oh, boo hoo," Zuikaku sarcastically shot back, though she did lower her voice. "And why the fuck are we looking at this empty stretch of beach anyway? Nobody's going to be stupid enough to pass through there when there's no cover. That Keats guy literally said not to sprint blindly into areas where you can't hide behind something."

"Still, we have been designated overwatch for our team, so we must remain here."

"That's dumb as hell. If we're going to do this stupid-ass training, then at least -"

Zuikaku was interrupted by a series of cracks from the firing of a semiautomatic rifle, and sharp whizzing noises sounded around the two carriers as rubber bullets started raining down on their position.

"Shit! How'd they know we were here?!" Zuikaku wondered as she and her sister hurriedly retreated away from the bushes and down the hill they were perched on.

"Judging by the fact that they didn't manage to hit us, it looks like they didn't actually see us," Shoukaku said. "They probably guessed that we would be hiding in the bushes atop that hill, though, since that is a prime sniper spot."

Zuikaku growled as they retreated, and the two carriers lightly jogged away from the hill and the beach and back towards a small forested area. When they returned to their designated base camp, they found Haruna sitting down on a rock, looking dejected. She also had a Type 89 rifle, though it was leaning against the rock beside her, unloaded. Also at the small makeshift base camp were two of the SEALs that Commander Keats brought with him. They were dressed in full body armor and carried weapons as well, but they were slung over their backs since they wouldn't be participating directly in the training exercise.

"Back here already?" Zuikaku asked the battleship as she raised an eyebrow. She spoke in English so that the two SEALs could follow the conversation as well, as they were here to observe the exercise.

"I was hit by the enemy," Haruna sighed sadly. "Unfortunately, it looks like our pincer movement failed. They seemed to have been expecting it…"

"I see. What about the others?" Shoukaku then questioned.

Haruna shook her head. "I don't know if they were caught as well… Since the left pincer was only composed of myself, I couldn't call for backup, so I was easily overwhelmed. Hopefully the right pincer fared better since there were more of them…"

"Well, if the enemy's expecting a pincer movement from their flank, how about we just rush across the clearing and assault them from the front?" Zuikaku suggested.

"Zuikaku, did you not just say that no one would be stupid enough to do that?" Shoukaku pointed out.

"Y-yeah, but that was before. The circumstances have changed."

"They likely have at least one person watching the beach just in case, so I don't think that will work," Haruna said.

Shoukaku nodded. "You heard the shots, Zuikaku. Whoever it was that shot at us may still be there, watching."

Zuikaku groaned. "Maybe going on offense first was a bad idea after all. The enemy is just sitting in their base, waiting for us to come to them and fight on their terms…"

"But perhaps Sendai's group broke through?" Haruna said, trying to remain positive. "She did seem confident about her chances."

"Nah, that idiot's always like that," Zuikaku scoffed. "Chances are that she got hit right off the bat and is now throwing a fit about how she got kicked out of the match so early."

As if on cue, the light cruiser in question came stomping back to the base camp. Shoukaku and Zuikaku raised their rifles but quickly lowered them as they realized it was just Sendai.

"I can't believe this," Sendai spat as she sulked over to the trio.

"Taken out already?" Zuikaku smirked.

"Yeah! They were just sitting there and waiting for us! Talk about a boring, cheap strategy!"

"Hey, if it works…" Zuikaku shrugged. "What happened to the other four?"

"Still fighting, I guess," Sendai answered as she also sat down on a flat rock. "Not that they'll last very long…"

Haruna sighed again. "Perhaps we should have spent more time on our strategy…"

"Yes. If only some people weren't so eager to get this over with," Shoukaku agreed, glaring at Zuikaku.

"Hey, not my fault you guys just decided to go with the first strategy I came up with."

"You should have came up with a better first strategy, then!" Sendai yelled.

"Oh, shut up. Not like you could have done better, Night Battle Idiot."

"Heh! If this practice took place at night, we'd definitely be winning!"

"Yeah, keep dreaming."

"Anyway, why are you two here?" Sendai asked the two carriers. "Shouldn't you be on overwatch? Don't tell me that you two got hit as well?"

Shoukaku shook her head. "We were fired upon, but the enemy did not score any hits. We can still fight… In fact, we should get back to it. Zuikaku, let's go help the others out."

"Huh? We'll definitely get hit if we rush in there like Haruna and Sendai did!" Zuikaku then turned to the two SEALs who had been silently observing the exchange. "Can't you guys help us out here?"

One of them, a woman with a short ponytail, smirked. "That would defeat the purpose of the exercise, wouldn't it? You're supposed to figure out a strategy on your own."

Zuikaku rolled her eyes. "Yeah, thanks for nothing, I guess. Now what do we do?"

"Perhaps we should get rid of the one who is sitting upon the hill," Shoukaku suggested. "That way, we can follow your suggestion and assault them from the front while the enemy is distracted fighting our flanking forces."

"Right. But how are we supposed to do that?"

"You will go back to our sniping position and draw the enemy's fire," Shoukaku told her sister. "While you are doing that, I will be on the beach, concealed by some sand. Once I hear the enemy begin firing, I will move out of my position, triangulate the direction of the enemy fire, and snipe her in her perch."

"So I'm just going to be bait?" Zuikaku frowned.

Shoukaku gave her sister a small smirk as she patted her on the shoulder. "Yes. Try not to get hit."

Zuikaku sighed in defeat. "Fine. Not like I have any better ideas."

Shoukaku nodded. "Give me a few minutes to get into position, then go and execute the plan."

The white-haired carrier went off towards the beach and carefully dug herself beneath a thin layer of sand. Only the top half of her face remained uncovered so she could see and hear what was going on around her, and she also kept the barrel of her gun above the grains. At this distance she was far enough away from the enemy to prevent herself from being spotted, as though she was covered by sand, anyone with a decent eye could see that there was someone there if she came close enough.

Shoukaku sat silently in her position, watching and waiting. In addition to the rolling waves, she could faintly pick up the sound of sporadic gunfire in the distance, but it was too far away to be Zuikaku's or the enemy sniper's. She guessed it was coming from the battle between her team's flanking force and the defenders. Soon enough, though, the cracks of gunfire sounded much more closely to her position, and so she assumed Zuikaku had begun the distraction phase. Shoukaku crawled beneath the sand as fast as she could towards the clearing between the two hills, grains of sand falling off her body as she moved forward.

When she got to the clearing, she used her carrier senses to pick up where the enemy was firing from. At this point, because she had moved so much, her sand cover had mostly been lost, so it was only a matter of seconds before the enemy noticed her as well. Acting quickly, Shoukaku stood up and aimed her sights down towards the other cliff. With white grains of sand still caught up in her silver hair and uniform, Shoukaku took aim and squeezed the trigger, popping off four deadly-accurate shots in the direction of the enemy. After firing, Shoukaku stood still and waited. Both the enemy and Zuikaku had stopped firing at this point, but Shoukaku wasn't sure if one or both of them had been hit.

A few moments later, a white flag emerged from the foliage on the opponent's cliff overlooking the sea. The SEALs had given each ship girl one of these to signal when they had been defeated and were out of the battle. According to the training exercise's rules, you were considered 'dead' if you got hit three times or got hit once in the head. Since the enemy was showing the white flag, it appeared that Shoukaku's shots had been on target.

Sure enough, Akagi emerged from the bushes, holding the flag in one hand and her rifle in the other. The red carrier waved in acknowledgement at Shoukaku, and Shoukaku nodded in return.

"Haha! Take that, First Carrier Division!" Shoukaku heard Zuikaku yell from her own cliff.

Shoukaku walked over to the center of the clearing and spied Zuikaku grinning haughtily, though she also had her own white flag out.

"Yo! Nice shooting, Sis!" Zuikaku greeted.

Shoukaku sighed. "Were you hit as well?"

Zuikaku scowled. "Unfortunately. Akagi managed to hit me in the head, which actually kind of hurt. It didn't leave a bruise or anything, right?"

"I don't think so," Shoukaku answered. "Anyway, I suppose that means I'll be conducting the rest of the operation on my own."

"Yeah, sorry about that. Good luck, though!"

Shoukaku headed off towards the cliff where Akagi's perch used to be, breaking into a light jog as she ran with her weapon. Once the enemy found out that Akagi had been defeated, they would know that their front had been opened up, so Shoukaku needed to hurry and break into their camp before they realized. She went around the side of the cliff and climbed up the pathway, then headed deeper into the interior of the enemy side, farther away from the beach. Now that she was in a forested area with more cover, Shoukaku slowed her pace and tried to remain inconspicuous. She didn't know exactly where the enemies had positioned themselves, so she wanted to remain cautious. As she went deeper into the forest, she began to hear voices. Hiding behind a tree trunk, Shoukaku peered out and saw Murasame and Yura standing around together. Though their weapons rested in their hands, the two ship girls didn't seem to be ready for an enemy assault.

"Guard duty is soooo boring," Murasame complained.

Yura smiled sympathetically. "But it _is_ necessary. What if someone were to break through?"

"They'd have to get through Akagi first," Murasame pointed out.

"Surely that isn't impossible, right? The enemy has two carriers while we only have one, so…"

As if on cue, Akagi then walked into the area, causing the cruiser and the destroyer to immediately lift their weapons. They lowered their guns as they noticed that it was an ally, but they then blinked in surprise.

"Akagi…?" Yura asked. "Shouldn't you be…"

Deciding to act before the enemy could connect the dots, Shoukaku leapt out from behind her cover. Not even bothering to aim, Shoukaku switched her weapon to full-auto and held down the trigger, firing from her hip. Yura and Murasame screamed in surprise as Shoukaku opened fire, and Akagi leapt into the bushes to avoid being hit again. After a few seconds of sustained fire, Shoukaku let go of her trigger, deciding the enemy had enough.

"Ugh… What the hell just happened…" Murasame muttered, having dropped her weapon due to the shock.

"It appears we were blindsided…" Yura answered sadly as she rubbed her arm where she had been shot.

"Sorry. Nothing personal," Shoukaku smiled as she walked past them and continued on inwards.

The three enemy ship girls didn't bother following Shoukaku, and Shoukaku guessed it was because whatever remained of the enemy force was likely to have heard the shots and would be expecting Shoukaku. The white-haired carrier reloaded her weapon as she walked forward, preparing for the final showdown.

 _There should only be five left, assuming our fleet didn't take anyone out,_ Shoukaku counted. _As for our forces, there are six including myself, though I have a feeling that most of those in the flanking force have been defeated._

Sure enough, Shoukaku was no longer hearing the sound of gunfire, which meant that one side or the other had been defeated.

 _I suppose that means -_

Shoukaku's thoughts were interrupted as she felt the ground give way beneath her. Yelping in surprise, Shoukaku lost her grip on her weapon as she desperately reached out for something. Luckily she had fallen into the pitfall trap while she was still close to the edge of it, so her fast reflexes allowed her to turn and grab the edge before she could fully fall in. Sighing in relief, Shoukaku pulled herself back up. She glanced down at the pitfall trap, which was not very wide but was deep enough so that she couldn't get out easily if she had fallen down there. Though she herself had escaped that fate, her gun had not, and she was now weaponless. She was sure she could eventually recover it if she were given enough time, but in this situation, it was more likely that the enemy fleet would find her and eliminate her before she could do that, so she opted to continue onward without her rifle.

Shoukaku had become extra cautious now, as the noise made from the trap had no doubt attracted the attention of the remaining enemies. The carrier made sure to also look out for more traps, and she actually found quite a few of them. The traps were fairly easy to avoid now that she was paying attention, but she was impressed that the enemies had actually gone through the trouble of digging those holes (though admittedly that wasn't a very difficult task for ship girls).

Footsteps began approaching, and Shoukaku flattened herself against another tree trunk. The footsteps were heading back in the direction of the first pitfall trap, so Shoukaku followed them, making sure to keep to the shadows.

"Think someone fell in?" she heard Kiso ask Shiranui as the two ship girls approached the hole.

"Most likely. I would be impressed if whoever it was triggered the trap and yet managed not to fall victim to it," Shiranui replied.

Shoukaku watched as the pair cautiously walked towards the hole, their weapons raised. The destroyer and light cruiser then peered inside the hole, prepared to fire if they spotted Shoukaku inside.

"Hey, it's just a -"

Shoukaku didn't let Kiso finish her sentence. The carrier jumped out from behind the tree she was hiding from behind, using the element of surprise to kick Kiso squarely in the back, sending the light cruiser tumbling into her own pitfall trap. Shiranui immediately raised her rifle towards the the carrier, but Shoukaku simply grabbed the barrel of Shiranui's gun and yanked it out of her hands due to the superior strength of a carrier when compared to a destroyer. With a sense of savagery she didn't know she had in her, Shoukaku smashed the stock of the gun into Shiranui's forehead, stunning the pink-haired girl. Shoukaku then opened fire, pinging three rubber bullets off Shiranui's body. She then immediately turned towards the hole and switched to automatic firing, letting loose a stream of bullets into the pitfall trap.

"Agh! All right, fuck, I surrender!" Kiso yelled from within, and Shoukaku finally stopped shooting.

Shoukaku turned back to Shiranui to see the destroyer glaring at her, her cold blue eyes filled with anger and humiliation. Shoukaku felt a bit bad about smashing Shiranui with her own rifle, but she had no choice.

"Sorry," she apologized anyway as she retreated into the bushes with her new weapon.

 _Three left._

The carrier continued through the forest, trying to reach the area where her flanking force had collided with the enemy. However, as she walked, she suddenly felt a light jab around her neck area along with a small whistling sound, and she ducked behind the nearest tree she could find.

 _Someone shot me?_ She reached up and rubbed the spot where she had been hit. _But from where? I didn't notice anyone…_

Shoukaku took a chance and peeked out from behind her cover, but as soon as she did, another rubber bullet hit her on the shoulder.

 _Damn it… Only one hit left. I can't afford to be shot again._

But now that she had taken that second bullet, she realized where the shooter was. Someone was attempting to snipe her from up inside the branches of a tree.

 _Hm… She knows my position now. It appears I am trapped behind this tree._

Even if she ran, the sniper would probably be able to put one in her back from this distance, especially since ship girls were excellent shots. Shoukaku knew which tree the enemy was firing from, but she didn't have a lock on the exact location, and there was a chance she could miss and be shot before she could take out the enemy. Suddenly, she got an idea. The sniper was undoubtedly fingering her trigger in anticipation for Shoukaku to come out, and based on the last time she poked her head out, the carrier knew the moment she appeared out from behind the tree, the shooter would fire.

Taking this into account, Shoukaku bent down and took off one of her boots. In one quick motion, she tossed her boot out from behind the tree, and a split-second later, she herself emerged with her gun ready. As expected, the moment the footwear came flying out into the open, the shooter just reflexively fired. Shoukaku heard the sound of the rubber bullet smacking against her boot, confirming that the sniper had made a fatal mistake. Firing as fast as the automatic gun would allow, Shoukaku quickly put four or five bullets into the position she watched the sniper fire from. Sure enough, a shriek of surprise followed Shoukaku's shots, and the carrier watched as Yamakaze tumbled out of the tree, the destroyer and gun both smacking into the forest floor. With leaves in her hair and clothing, Yamakaze whimpered as she held up the white flag and covered her face with a hand in case Shoukaku tried to shoot her again. For her part, Shoukaku merely picked up her relatively-undamaged boot and walked past the destroyer, continuing onwards.

 _Two left._

Sticking to the shadows once again, this time making sure to watch the treetops as well, Shoukaku traveled towards the site of the gunfight. She got to the halfway point between the enemy camp and her camp, and she guessed that this was around where the flanking force must have met the enemy. No friendly ships were in the area, so Shoukaku assumed they also went back to their own base camp, having been defeated soundly by the enemy.

"Heh. Don't try anything funny, Shoukaku."

The carrier whirled around to see Suzuya, but also accompanying the heavy cruiser was Asashio, one of Shoukaku's teammates. Suzuya had her hand over the destroyer's mouth and a pistol pointed towards Asashio's head, a sinister smirk on her face.

"One wrong move and Asashio here gets it," Suzuya warned.

Asashio attempted to say something, but her voice was muffled by the heavy cruiser, who was much stronger.

"Drop your weapon and come with me. If you do, we'll let Asashio here go," Suzuya said. "If you don't, then -"

Without waiting for Suzuya to finish her sentence, Shoukaku raised her gun and shot the Mogami-class cruiser in the head.

Suzuya scowled heavily as she finally let go of Asashio. "The hell!? Damn, you're not messin' around, are you?"

Shoukaku shrugged. "Asashio wouldn't actually die or even get injured if you did end up shooting her, so I went ahead and took the shot."

Suzuya grinned. "Didn't know you were so cold, Shoukaku."

Shoukaku smiled. "Oh? It's just a training exercise. Now, would you mind telling me where Amatsukaze is? She should be the last member of your fleet, correct?"

"She went off with the others to look for you while I chased down the stragglers here," Suzuya replied, gesturing towards Asashio. "Don't know exactly where she is by now. Is everyone else…?"

Shoukaku nodded. "They're all finished."

Suzuya gave a low whistle. "Wow, a one-woman-army. Nice job there!"

"Take that pistol, Asashio," Shoukaku commanded, pointing to the gun Suzuya had dropped when she was shot.

The destroyer picked it up, but as she checked the clip, she frowned. "Um… There appears to be no ammunition in this."

Shoukaku blankly looked at Suzuya. "... You were threatening someone with a gun that can't even shoot?"

Suzuya grinned sheepishly. "Hey, what can ya do."

"What happened to your rifle?" Shoukaku then asked.

"I, uh, I lost it," Suzuya replied.

"... You _lost_ it?"

"Uh… Yeah."

"How did you… Never mind. Let's go, Asashio."

The aircraft carrier then went back into the forest to hunt down the last remaining enemy, the gun-less Asashio escorting her as she walked. Going on the offensive had worked well so far, so Shoukaku decided to keep it up. They covertly continued on for a few minutes before they paused after hearing a noise.

"I think someone's around here," Asashio whispered.

Immediately following that, a figure leapt out of the foliage and began firing. Expecting something like this to happen, Shoukaku hid behind a tree she had positioned herself close to. Asashio, however, was not so lucky, and she was pelted by a hail of bullets from Amatsukaze, who was wielding two rifles, one in each hand. Shoukaku peeked out from behind the trunk and fired, but the speedy destroyer anticipated that and jumped out of the way. Amatsukaze returned fire with her two guns, and the increased rate of fire from two weapons caused the tree to vibrate with all the shots it was being hit with.

Shoukaku remained behind the tree, but Amatsukaze had other ideas. The destroyer sprinted past, trying to flank around so she could get a good shot on the white-haired ship girl. Shoukaku tried to shoot her in her tracks, but Amatsukaze was simply moving too quickly, and Shoukaku fired off two shots, both of which missed. She tried to fire again, but she found to her horror that she had run out of ammo. The only one with a pistol on Shoukaku's team was Zuikaku, so Shoukaku was now on her own. Amatsukaze noticed this as well, and the destroyer stopped her running and took aim at Shoukaku with her twin guns. Becoming more or less desperate at this point, Shoukaku decided to throw her weapon at Amatsukaze like a javelin. This forced Amatsukaze to reflexively roll to avoid it, and as she was doing that, Shoukaku ran back towards the area where Asashio had been shot.

The black-haired destroyer had apparently went back to the base camp after being shot like Keats instructed them to do, but Asashio had thankfully left Suzuya's pistol behind. Shoukaku grabbed it, and when Amatsukaze recovered and moved towards Shoukaku again, the aircraft carrier raised her pistol and aimed it straight at Amatsukaze's face. Naturally, this caused Amatsukaze to flinch for a brief moment, and Shoukaku took advantage of this by chucking her gun at Amatsukaze again. Confused as to why Shoukaku threw the gun instead of just shooting her, Amatsukaze belatedly moved out of the way, and her sluggish response allowed Shoukaku to lung forward and tackle the destroyer to the ground.

Since both her hands were occupied holding the weapons, Amatsukaze was forced to let go of them in order to get Shoukaku off. However, this was exactly what Shoukaku wanted, and the carrier snagged one of the rifles. Amatsukaze realized her mistake and quickly recovered the other one, and both ship girls aimed their weapons at each other at the same time.

Amatsukaze and Shoukaku locked eyes for a moment, then squeezed their triggers.


	23. Unfulfilled Wishes I

"So you both shot each other at the same time?"

Shoukaku nodded. "Yes. Commander Keats concluded that the training exercise ended in a tie."

Drake smirked. "Sounds like you guys had fun."

"It was… An interesting experience, no doubt."

Drake was seated at his desk in the main office of the Administrative Building, now back in Japan. Kaga and Shoukaku were also with him, as they were trying to finish up some of the logistical work that accumulated in the Admiral's and Secretary Ship's absence.

"Admiral, what about those of us who were not present at the base for the past few days? Will we also need to undertake this 'firearms' training?" Kaga asked, glancing up from a report she was reading.

"Uh… No, probably not. It's not that important, to be honest. I just thought it might be useful for certain specific situations."

"I see. I only ask because now I am sure I must tolerate Zuikaku's boasts about how she is finally better than me at something."

This caused Shoukaku to giggle, and Drake grinned slightly as well. "Yeah. You know what, you should ask Zuikaku to teach you how to shoot, actually."

"Yes, I am sure that would a great experience for the both of us," Kaga replied as she frowned, her sarcasm obvious even in her relatively toneless way of speaking.

"Excuse me!" Ooyodo suddenly yelled, making all of the room's occupants look at her. "U-um… It looks like there is an incoming transmission coming from an unknown source."

"What?" Genji asked with a scowl.

"Er… It's exactly as I said, sir," Ooyodo replied, not sure what else to say. "Should we answer it…?"

"Oooh, maybe it's a prank caller," Mutsu threw out.

"A prank caller? Just what kind of security does this base have?" Genji spat. He then turned to Fleet Admiral Miiro. "Well? Are we going to answer it?"

Miiro looked unsure, as he almost always did. "Ah… I think we should."

Genji nodded to Ooyodo, and the ship girl pressed a few buttons, putting the transmission on speaker. Everyone in the room gathered around the speaker, waiting for the strange caller to begin talking.

" _Hello?"_

Drake froze. He recognized that voice.

"Ah, hello?" Miiro answered back. "May I ask who is calling?"

" _Who are you?"_

"We asked first," Genji growled.

" _... Very well. I am the Abyssal Fleet's Battleship Princess."_

Genji's frown deepened. "The hell? If you think this is some kind of joke -"

"She's telling the truth," Drake stated, his eyes cold.

"Yes, Admiral Drake's report did say he communicated with her before," Miiro pointed out. "Er, Miss Abyssal Princess, may we help you?"

"Fleet Admiral, why the hell are you speaking to her so nicely?" Genji demanded, then turned to glare at the speaker. "You bitch, listen to me. Come out and stop trying to -"

" _Where is Admiral Drake?"_

All eyes in the room turned to Drake.

"I'm here," he replied apprehensively. "What do you want?"

" _Ah… Just the sound of your voice makes my blood boil… Admiral Drake, you truly are marvelous."_

"Still sore after the spanking I gave you, huh?"

" _Yes… You could say that. But regardless, I am not here to fight. Instead, I would like to extend an 'olive branch,' as you humans put it. I want to meet with the admirals of this base."_

That stunned everyone in the room.

"You're… Ready to give terms?" Nagato asked, confused.

" _Do not take this as a surrender. I merely offer a chance at diplomacy, and a momentary break from the fighting. Do you accept?"_

"Mmm, yeah, this sounds like bullshit," Drake rejected with a deep frown. _After all the senseless killing they've done, they're now willing to sue for peace?_

"Agreed," Genji nodded. "Listen, Abyssal scum, if you think we're dumb enough to fall for something like this, you're mistaken. Go fuck yourself."

" _Haha… You humans are quite bold, aren't you?"_

"Sir, perhaps we should be a bit less blunt," Nagato cautioned. "Battleship Princess… What are the conditions for this meeting? Where do you propose and when? And for what purpose exactly?"

" _My conditions are that all admirals from this base attend, and that they bring with them only one ship girl each. As for the time and place, I will leave that up to you."_

"You're just going to let us decide that?" Genji raised an eyebrow. "What if we suggest holding the meeting in the middle of Tokyo with all our armed forces right outside?"

" _If you're willing to endure the political fallout that will result from bringing an Abyssal Princess into one of your major cities, then please do so,"_ Battleship Princess said, amused. " _However, I would advise against it. I also asked that you only bring yourselves and your ship girls, so the middle of Tokyo would not work. Perhaps a more isolated area would be better? Hachijo-jima, for example?"_

Drake narrowed his eyes. "That's still disadvantageous for you. Japan could easily deploy a strike force from port and get to that island in no time. Also, there are people living there, if you've already forgotten."

" _That matters not. The small population on that island is irrelevant, and as I said before, if I see that you brought any forces other than yourselves, then the meeting is off."_

"Are you going to be attending by yourself?" Genji asked the Abyssal.

" _I will bring two other Princesses, but that will be all. We will also come unarmed, as we have no intention of harming you at the meeting. Is that satisfactory?"_

The ship girls and admirals glanced at each other. While a diplomatic meeting with the Abyssals was unprecedented and could lead to a major breakthrough in the war, there was also a very real possibility that the meeting was a trap of some sorts. In total, there would be three Princesses and three ship girls at the meeting, which was not a good balance considering the fact that one Princess was far stronger than the average ship girl. But then again, the meeting would be taking place close to Tokyo, and Japan would undoubtedly have an overwhelming force (including the rest of the ship girls) ready to sortie at any moment if things went wrong.

"Um, please give us a moment to decide," Miiro asked the Battleship Princess before stepping back from the speaker and lowering his voice. "Well, what do you all think?"

Genji scowled. "I still think this could be a trap. Why would they suddenly want to meet with us?"

"Well… Admiral Drake _did_ sink one of their Princesses," Nagato pointed out. "Perhaps they realized that we are stronger than they previously thought?"

Genji looked unconvinced, but he turned to Drake. "What do you think?"

Drake was unsure himself, but now that the Princess had explained things further he felt that an opportunity like this was too rare to pass up. He explained his thinking to the rest of the group, as well as the fact that the meeting taking place so close to Japan meant that the humans could sortie friendly forces if they really needed to.

"So it appears we are going to accept their offer, then?" Miiro concluded. When the other admirals nodded reluctantly, the group moved back to the speaker.

Miiro cleared his throat. "Miss Abyssal Princess… We have decided to accept your offer. We will plan to hold these talks a week from now at Hachijo-jima if that is acceptable for you."

" _That is fine. I will see you then, in that case."_

The transmission cut off.

* * *

"... So that's what she said."

Drake finished explaining the Battleship Princess' message to the rest of his fleet, who were all gathered outside on the beach after the afternoon's training had finished.

"Don't tell me you're actually going to go," Bismarck said in a disapproving tone from where she sat on a rock. "This is obviously a trap."

"Possibly. We'll be able to detect if there are any other Abyssals in the vicinity aside from the three going to the meeting, though, so we'll know if she has violated the conditions."

"But… Even if they just brought three Princesses like they said, that would still be dangerous, no?" Haruna asked nervously.

Drake grimaced. "Yeah… I guess they _could_ kill us all if they really wanted to."

"So you're sending three admirals and the three secretary ships to their possible deaths?" Bismarck spat in disbelief. "I thought you were supposed to be smart, Admiral."

Drake shrugged lightly. "I don't know what you want from me. The Abyssals have never been known to use duplicitous tactics before, so I don't know why they'd start now. Why wouldn't it be possible that they really do just want to talk?"

"Huh? The Abyssals have made it clear that all they care about is murder and butchery!" Zuikaku countered, also frustrated with her admiral. "Big fat fucking chance they suddenly changed their minds and are hoping for a peaceful solution!"

"Admiral, Zuikaku may be right," Shoukaku piped up. "I hate to bring this up, but… At the Battle of Tangier, the Abyssals were very eager to cause as much damage to human settlements as they could. I don't think their bloodlust has been sated just by the passage of time."

Drake was beginning to have second thoughts now, especially since he knew all of that in the back of his mind. Could it really be true that this peace meeting was a trap?

Kaga then spoke up. "Even if the Abyssals were to kill the six of us, that would not mean they will have won the war. There are still many other ship girls and admirals who can replace us, and all the Abyssals would achieve by going back on their word is to make sure that they can never be trusted again, and that any further diplomatic and communication attempts by the Abyssals will be ignored. It also does not seem likely that the Abyssals have suddenly decided to change their strategy from fleet-versus-fleet battles to assassinations and betrayal. Perhaps if the Abyssals were on the brink of defeat or if they lost many of their ships I would agree with the idea of rejecting this meeting, but right now, when the Abyssals still technically have the upper hand in terms of warships? It doesn't seem likely that they would try and set a trap at this meeting."

Drake nodded, thankful that Kaga was able to articulate the reasons why he accepted this meeting. "There you have it. Any other questions?"

Zuikaku shook her head in disappointment. "Fine, do what you want. Just don't say I didn't warn you."

"If you're right, then I won't be able to say anything because I'll be dead anyway," Drake countered.

"I-I don't want the Admiral to die!" Yamakaze yelled, but then flushed red and hid behind Shigure when she realized everyone was staring at her.

Drake couldn't help but smile at that. "Relax, I'm not going to die. I hope."

"Is this a joke to you?" Bismarck growled as she stood up. "Like it or not, but this fleet relies on you to make sound decisions and lead them. What do you think would happen to morale if you or the secretary ship were to die?"

Drake was a bit taken aback by Bismarck's outburst, but he couldn't deny that it felt good to know that she cared.

"Bismarck, I promise I'll be back here for you. Don't know what else I can say to reassure you, but I won't leave you so easily."

The German blushed. "I wasn't talking about myself!"

"Huh, maybe Ark Royal was right when she said you were a tsundere."

"She told _you_ that too!?"

"Don't worry, sir, we'll avenge you if you die!" Kiso proudly declared, puffing out her chest.

"Yeah!" Suzuya agreed. "Never thought I'd be fighting for an American commander, but we'll give those Abyssals an ass-kicking in your memory!"

"Right. Let's hold off on that for now, though," Drake cautioned with an amused smirk. "Well then, training is done for today. You're dismissed."

The fleet began packing up their equipment, and Drake walked over to Bismarck. The blonde battleship looked up as her admiral approached and frowned.

"If you're here to make fun of me, then -"

Drake held up his hands. "No, no. I just came to talk to you. Can I do that?"

Bismarck narrowed her blue eyes suspiciously, but she acquiesced regardless.

"Are you getting used to life on the naval base?" he asked as Bismarck strapped her big guns back on, preparing to sail towards the Equipment Building.

"I suppose," she curtly replied. "Why are you asking this right now?"

"You just seemed so much happier when we were in London, I guess," Drake told her. "You're not getting homesick, are you?"

"London isn't my home," Bismarck scoffed.

"But it's where all your German buddies are, isn't it?"

"... Yes. And?"

"That's obviously what I meant by 'homesick.' Don't you miss them?"

Bismarck turned away. "It is my duty as the Third Reich's greatest battleship to carry out my orders wherever and whenever. The time and the location does not matter."

"Sounds like a scripted answer," Drake smirked.

Bismarck glared at him. "Then what do you want me to say? 'Yes, I miss them so much, I'm so sad?' Would that make you feel better?"

Drake sighed. "Why are you always so hostile? Why would hearing that make me feel better?"

"... Then I told you that I am fine. Leave me alone."

The American admiral glared at her. Normally he never went out of his way to talk to anybody or make sure someone was all right, but he still remembered the day when he found Bismarck crying out on the docks, and so he felt bad for her. However, if she was going to continue acting like a brat, he wouldn't bother to put in the effort.

"Fine," he simply said to her as he stormed off.

Kaga, who had been spectating the conversation from a distance, sighed internally as she watched her admiral leave in a huff. The aircraft carrier also glanced at Bismarck, who wore a sour expression as well. Before the German could get back out onto the water, Kaga approached her, placing a hand on her shoulder. Bismarck jumped slightly, then turned around and scowled.

"Can I help you, Secretary?"

"... Is that the kind of tone you use with the Admiral as well?"

Bismarck smirked at her. "So what if it is? Are you going to punish me?"

Kaga was unperturbed by Bismarck's taunts. "You're already punishing yourself with this, so there's no need for me to do so. I personally do not care how you talk to me, but the Admiral is more sensitive, I think. Perhaps you should watch your words around him."

"What, so I should try not to 'hurt his feelings'? He's a grown man, and he can deal with it. Not my problem that he's 'sensitive.'"

Kaga stared at Bismarck for a bit, causing the battleship to fidget uncomfortably.

"Perhaps it is true what the Admiral said? That you are missing your German comrades?"

Bismarck frowned. "Where did you suddenly get that from?"

"You seem to be acting quite prickly today," Kaga observed. "I assume you are stressed out because of that. Your visit to London may have reminded you of how good it felt to be back with your old sisters-in-arms, and now that you are back in Japan, that feeling of loss has returned."

"Oh, so you're some sort of psychologist now?" Bismarck asked, edge in her voice.

"Am I wrong? I am quite sure that I am not, but if you want to continue fooling yourself…"

"Fine, you're right!" Bismarck snapped, her ice-blue eyes filling with frustration. "Yeah, you're right, okay?! Now shut up and stay away from me! Go tell your beloved Admiral that too!"

Luckily most of the other ship girls had already left to return their equipment, so the yelling did not draw in any bystanders. Kaga herself did not even flinch at Bismarck's harsh words.

"You seem ashamed to admit this."

Bismarck stared at her as if she were stupid. " _Of course_ I am ashamed! Why wouldn't I be?! And yet you and the Admiral continue to pester me about issues like this. Do you really enjoy humiliating me that much?"

"Maybe the goal is not to humiliate you, but to help you. Did that thought ever cross your mind?" Kaga bluntly riposted.

Bismarck grit her teeth. "Yeah, right. I'm sure the Admiral is _so_ eager to listen to the complaints of his subordinates, especially ridiculous ones like mine."

"If he wasn't, then why would he come over and ask you? Would he really brush you off if you had told him this?"

"Why wouldn't he?"

"I asked you first. Has the Admiral ever done or said anything to you before that makes you think that he wouldn't care about your problems?"

"... No."

"Then why…"

"Because if I were in his position, I would think that a warship missing home is ridiculous!" Bismarck shouted. "We are supposed to be soldiers! There isn't any room for this kind of nonsense…"

"... But as a commander, don't you think the Admiral wants his soldiers to be in peak condition?" Kaga said. "Perhaps you should give him a chance before you assume the worst."

Bismarck continued to scowl, but she said nothing more.

"Also, I think you should go and apologize to him. You were being a bit rude earlier, weren't you?"

Bismarck glared at her. "Me? Apologize? I refuse."

Kaga fixed her with a disapproving stare. "The last time you two got into an argument, the Admiral apologized to you, didn't he? So why can't you do it this time? Or are you incapable even of that?"

"'Incapable?!' Of course I can do it!"

"Then do it."

"But… Fine."

The German battleship wore a look of defeat as she stepped out onto the ocean, sailing in the direction of the Equipment Building. She sailed into the hangar that connected to the water and packed away her equipment, then walked upstairs and exited through the Equipment Building's front entrance. Reluctantly, she began making her way towards the Administrative Building, where she assumed her admiral was.

 _This is embarrassing,_ she thought with frustration as she entered the base's main building. She checked the main office but didn't find Drake there, so she headed to the private office. There she found her admiral, reclining in his chair as soft classical music played in the background. His eyes were closed, but he flicked one open as he heard Bismarck enter.

"Great. What is it now?" he asked with a frown.

Bismarck bristled at his tone, but she tried to remain calm and do what she came here to do. "I… I…"

Drake straightened up and leaned on his desk, peering over at her. "... Are you all right? You look like you're going to be sick."

"I'm… Here to apologize. I am sorry I was rude to you," Bismarck managed.

The Admiral wore an expression of disbelief, then smirked. "Oh? Who put you up to this? Kaga?"

" _Dummkopf_! Is this how you treat someone who is apologizing to you!" Bismarck fumed.

"Calm down. Do you even know why you're apologizing? Or are you just here because Kaga told you to come?"

Bismarck looked away. "Yes… I am sorry that I was cold to you when you were only trying to help me. The truth is… I do miss my comrades from _Deutschland_. It just pains me to admit it…"

Drake's expression softened. "I see… Well, it's only a natural feeling. Do you remember what I said to you months ago? Both of us are foreigners here, and I have the same feelings you do, to be honest. There's nothing wrong with admitting that, especially not to each other. Right?"

"Yes… I am sorry."

"Yeah, don't worry about it. Just remember," Drake smiled at her, "you're not alone here. All right?"

Bismarck returned his smile, her blue eyes the color of melting ice.

* * *

"Hm…"

A girl with light brown hair tied in a short ponytail stared out at the waters in the Gulf of Aden, looking down the iron sights of her navy-blue rifle as she leaned against the railing of the ship. She wore nothing save for a black bikini top and a pair of small jean shorts, her bikini bottom clearly visible at her waist as her pants were unbuttoned. Light beads of sweat trailed down her fair skin, the heat giving her curvy but toned body a sheen to it. Her sky blue eyes turned away from the ocean and glanced back behind her as she heard the door to the deck of the destroyer she was stationed on open.

Joining the girl out on the deck were two more women. The first was a black officer in a short-sleeved white admiral's uniform. She had lustrous dark hair that was also tied in a short ponytail, and her almond-colored eyes had a focused edge to them. Accompanying her was a girl with long, messy blonde twintails and a scared look on her face.

"Ah, there you are," the officer spoke once she sighted the brown-haired woman. "Have you been here all morning, Intrepid?"

Intrepid smiled at the two other women. "I have, Rear Admiral Blake. Not much else to do around here."

"I suppose that's true…" Rear Admiral Blake looked over Intrepid's scantily-clad body. "Um… What happened to your uniform?"

"Oh, that? Way too hot for it," Intrepid said with a casual shrug of her shoulders. "Glad I brought these along, huh?"

"Gambier Bay seems fine with her uniform," Blake pointed out, turning to the blonde carrier, who looked anything but thrilled to be singled out.

Intrepid frowned. "And? Unless you have a problem with me being dressed like this?"

Blake sighed. "Not _me_ personally, but the Navy does have a dress code for a reason…"

"I'm sure they do," Intrepid smirked. "Anyway, did you need me for something?"

"I'm just here to let you know that we've detected activity in this sector," the rear admiral explained. "We're heading there right now, so be prepared for battle."

"Ah, is that why Gamby looks so scared?" Intrepid asked with a grin as she turned to her fellow carrier.

"I-I'm not scared!" Gambier Bay feebly denied.

Intrepid laughed. "Relax! It's not as if we're facing Abyssals, remember? This should be easy."

"Y-yeah…"

"She's right, you know," Rear Admiral Blake told the blonde. "Pirates don't stand a chance even against our conventional warships, so against ship girls? This is overkill, but hey, I guess the higher-ups wanted to give you some live targets for training."

Gambier Bay nodded nervously. "Understood, ma'am… I won't fail!"

Blake smiled. "Yeah, I don't think you girls could fail against these opponents even if you wanted to, but just remember that all of us on this destroyer will be here as backup just in case. There's nothing to be afraid of."

"I'm going to go get changed," Intrepid then said, shouldering her rifle. "Let me know when we sortie."

The American carrier went down below decks to the hangar where the ship girls' equipment was stored and put her uniform back on. Just as she finished, Gambier Bay came down as well.

"Admiral Blake said we should sortie now," the light carrier timidly told her comrade. "She said we should be able to see the enemy on our radar…"

"Sounds good," Intrepid simply said as she headed over to her rigging. The hangar door leading out to the gulf also opened, indicating that the ship girls could leave. "Anything special we need to do? Or can we just kill them all?"

"Um… I think we can just sink them…"

"That's what I like to hear," Intrepid grinned as the machines attached her rigging to her body. "All right, then, I'm off. Try not to fall behind!"

Intrepid sailed out into the Gulf of Aden, Gambier Bay hurriedly following behind. The standard carrier quickly spotted the enemy combatants on her radar systems, and she immediately began sailing in their direction.

"Looks like there's only three hostile ships!" Intrepid called out to Gambier Bay. "Two of them seem like they're just skiffs, while the big one is probably the mothership!"

"U-understood!"

"You wanna take the mothership? Chasing down the faster boats seems like it'd be more fun for me personally," Intrepid said.

"Um, yes, that's fine with me," Gambier Bay nodded, so the two carriers split up to go fulfill their respective objectives.

After a couple more minutes of sailing, Intrepid finally got her sights on the two skiffs. They were small but fast crafts, and as they got closer, she could see that they were loaded with dark-skinned pirates who were wielding an assortment of weaponry.

 _Heh, they must be wondering what a girl is doing standing out on the water,_ she mused to herself as the boats approached, now having sighted her.

At first, the pirates were bewildered by Intrepid's appearance and were thus unable to react properly. However, they quickly realized that she could not possibly be friendly considering the gun and the equipment she had on her, so they began shouting to each other in a language Intrepid did not understand, and a couple of them began readying their weapons.

Without waiting for the pirates to get their shit together, Intrepid aimed her blue Springfield rifle and fired at one of the pirates. Her aim was true, and the bullet from the gun planted itself into the dead center of the pirate's forehead, spraying blood onto the other pirates in that skiff. As Intrepid pulled the bolt handle back, the other pirates began to fire with their much more modern guns, forcing Intrepid to back off after being pelted by a few bullets.

"Shit, those damn bullets still hurt a bit," she complained as she noticed that she was lightly bleeding in some spots where she was shot. The bullets were not powerful enough to embed themselves in her armor-like skin, but the projectiles still caused shallow cuts and punctures.

Deciding to fight more like a conventional aircraft carrier, Intrepid continued to sail backwards, though the skiffs were fairly fast themselves and were able to keep her in their range. Intrepid fired her rifle again, but this time, the bullet that she shot out transformed into four planes midway through its flight. The three Hellcat fighters and single bomber flew towards the two skiffs, causing the pirates to shift their fire over to the planes in confusion. However, the planes were far too agile for the pirates to hit, and even if they did manage to shoot any one of them, their small arms fire would barely damage the planes. One of the Hellcats made a strafing run on a skiff, pumping a pirate full of holes as the others all ducked. The other two Hellcats fired upon the second skiff, but these pirates were smarter and outsped the planes. Intrepid could have easily had her fighters catch up and destroy the skiff, but she decided to let them run for now; she would hunt them down at her leisure.

The remaining boat's pirates had more or less recovered and began firing at Intrepid again. The aircraft carrier used her flight deck as a shield against the bullets, as it could take the fire better than her skin could and would not be significantly damaged by the guns. Intrepid then had her bomber circle around and approach the skiff from behind. Before the pirates could react to the plane, the Corsair bomber dropped its payload by the skiff, sending the boat flying into the air with a marvelous explosion. Metal, water, blood, and various human body parts spiralled around the sky like some sort of macabre fireworks show.

Intrepid smiled as she admired her handiwork, but she did not have much time to rest as she suddenly heard something coming towards her. Whirling around, the American carrier saw the second pirate skiff approaching again, but what worried her more was the rocket that was heading straight towards her.

 _Where did they get a weapon like that?!_

Nevertheless, Intrepid still managed to outmaneuver the RPG shot, and it sailed wide as the carrier raised her Springfield again. She fired another shot, but this time she forced it to transform into a plane almost as soon as she shot it, resulting in only one fighter being produced. Even so, she still had her two previous Hellcats in the air, so three total was more than enough. Before the pirates could get into accurate firing range for their own guns, Intrepid's fighters approached the skiff from three different directions and lit it up with their machine guns. As the fighter planes' guns sang, the small skiff was completely torn apart by the combined fire, and after a few seconds, the boat began rapidly sinking, now thoroughly chewed up. Blood coated the interior of the small skiff, and the humans who used to be inside were nothing more than unidentifiable piles of pink and red mush.

A faint explosion sounded in the distance, and Intrepid turned away from the dilapidated boat to see something burning not too far off on the horizon.

 _Guess Gamby is done as well…_

Intrepid sailed off in the direction of her fellow carrier, and sure enough, she was met halfway by the blonde.

"Hey! Have fun?" Intrepid asked with a cheeky grin.

"Um… It wasn't too bad," Gambier Bay admitted. "Better than fighting the Kurita Fleet again…"

Intrepid slapped Gambier Bay on the back heartily. "Haha! The Japs are on our side now, aren't they? Don't tell me you're still afraid of them too."

"I-I'm not!" Gambier Bay weakly rebutted.

"Mmm, yeah, sure you aren't. I heard you tried to hide when you saw Yamato in London."

"Who told you that!"

Intrepid merely laughed, sailing away with a teasing smile as Gambier Bay chased after her.


	24. Unfulfilled Wishes II

Kaga stood on the beach of Hachijo-jima, waiting along with the Tokyo Bay Base's three admirals, Kongou, and Nagato for the Abyssal envoy to arrive. It was a cloudy and windless day on the island, similar to when she had been here to fight off the Abyssal assault. Indeed, things had not changed much on the island since then, and like the day of the sortie, most of the island's inhabitants were indoors after being informed of the Abyssal visit.

Though the admirals and secretary ships had come to the island alone as promised, a carrier strike force was stationed close by the Tokyo Bay Base, ready to sortie at any moment. The ship girls at the base were also prepared for battle, and if given the order, they would sail to Hachijo-jima as fast as they could. Nevertheless, the Abyssals seemed to be holding up their end of the agreement as well, and radar and drone surveillance had located only three Abyssals sailing leisurely towards the Japanese island. For now, it seemed like the reinforcements would be unnecessary, but one could never be too prepared.

"Man, what I'd give to sock that bitch right in the face when we see her, desu," Kongou mumbled under her breath as the group waited for the Abyssals.

"That… Probably wouldn't go well for you," Nagato commented, overhearing Kongou anyway.

Kongou clenched her fists. "I won't end up like last time. I refuse to."

Kaga was a bit surprised at the battleship's uncharacteristic seriousness. "But you will surely be destroyed again if you attack her."

"You don't know that."

"Have you gained some sort of new power that I am unaware of?"

"... No."

"Then the result will probably be the same."

"Yeah, thanks for believing in me, desu," Kongou spat as she rolled her eyes.

Nagato grinned confidently. "Don't worry, Kongou. There are two more of us here this time, so you won't need to fight alone if it comes down to it."

Kongou sighed. "You know, I'm not even sure if _you_ could beat her Nagato."

"Oho? Is she really so strong?"

"Yeah. And that beast she carries with her…" Kongou shuddered. "I _really_ hope she doesn't bring that thing along with her this time."

"Ah, right," Nagato nodded. "I forgot that the Princesses often carry with them monsters as part of their rigging. They truly are fearsome foes…"

"They're freaks, that's what they are," Kongou corrected, crossing her arms and pouting.

Kaga shifted her attention away from the two ship girls and glanced at the admirals. Fleet Admiral Miiro appeared to be fidgeting nervously, and Rear Admiral Genji simply stood by rigidly, though it was clear that he was also uncomfortable. Kaga's own admiral was standing with his hands in his pockets, looking out at the sea with a distant fade to his eyes. Kaga felt slightly worried about Drake coming along for this meeting given his history, but she knew it would be ridiculous to expect him not to attend, and the Abyssals wanted him to be there as well.

"Heh, the admirals all look nervous don't they?" Kongou smirked as she nudged Kaga.

"Not Admiral Drake," Nagato noted with an impressed tone. "Quite the stoic, isn't he? I think we should all learn from his example."

 _I fear you may be completely wrong there, Nagato,_ Kaga thought, but she decided to keep that to herself.

" _The enemy will be approaching soon,"_ a voice on the radio Miiro carried with him warned.

Miiro fumbled with the device as he was snapped out of his worrying. "Ah, um, thank you."

"Hmph. There they are," Genji pointed out seconds later, and sure enough, three black figures could be seen approaching on the horizon.

Kaga stole another look at Drake, but the admiral's countenance had not changed even now that the Abyssals were arriving. The aircraft carrier walked up to him.

"Sir."

Drake finally tore his eyes away from the ocean. "... Right."

The group then stood together in silence as they awaited the Abyssals to make landfall, and after a few minutes, the three Princesses made it into the shallows and landed upon the beach. Kaga recognized two of them as the Battleship Princess and the Airfield Princess, but the third she did not know. This third Princess had long, white hair and violent red eyes, and her body was covered in black armor. Her hair was styled similarly to Kaga's own, and the Princess smiled cruelly at the ship girl. None of the Abyssals had brought her rigging or weapons, and so they were without their beasts.

"I apologize for our tardiness," Battleship Princess spoke in Japanese, though she certainly didn't sound sorry. "Anyway, I am glad to see that you upheld your end of our agreement. As promised, only the three of us have come as well."

The Battleship Princess then paused momentarily to scan over the ship girls and admirals, and her face broke into a savage grin when her eyes landed on Drake. The Abyssal showed off her sharp, pointed teeth as she smiled, and her red eyes widened in a way that made even Kaga uncomfortable. She noticed her admiral shifting nervously, placing himself behind her.

"Um, well then," Miiro began shakily, refusing to meet the Battleship Princess' intense and disturbing gaze, "since you were the one who asked for this meeting, would you mind starting?"

"I suppose we will," Battleship Princess agreed. "Firstly, let me just say that we have not come here to discuss any sort of peace treaty. There will be no peace between the Abyssals and humans, and we will wipe all of you out with no exceptions."

"I knew it!" Genji shouted. "This is a trap, isn't it?"

The Abyssal battleship wore an amused smile. "Calm yourself. No, this is not a trap. There _are_ still things I would like to discuss, even having said what I just said."

Genji remained aggressive. "Fuck you. What more is there to say now that you've openly expressed your wish to exterminate our entire species?"

The Abyssal Princess frowned in confusion. "Are you… Admiral Drake?"

Genji blinked. "Huh? No, I'm -"

"Which one of you is Admiral Drake?" Battleship Princess interrupted forcefully. "He can't possibly be one of those two trembling fools cowering back there could he? I thought I explicitly said that he needed to be here."

Naturally, the group turned to Drake, and the Abyssals' gazes followed. Drake looked extremely uncomfortable to have the undivided attention of the enemy.

"Impossible…" The Battleship Princess actually looked shocked now that she had taken a closer look at the American. " _That_ is the Admiral Drake who nearly sank Airfield Princess and did kill our Submarine Princess? _You_ of all people?"

Genji appeared just as confused. "What are you going on about? How is that so surprising?"

The Battleship Princess answered his inquiry with a bout of laughter. The sound was shrill and grating, and the Princess' red eyes flashed with a savage mirth as her screeching laughter filled the calm island air with a horrifying, twisted melody.

The Princess finally calmed down. "... Years ago, I looked into those frightened eyes. Tell me, boy, you were the one at Tangier, correct? Oh, those eyes! I'll never forget those eyes! How they made my heart race when I realized the pure, raw fear behind them! It was truly the pinnacle of human emotion, those eyes! How I longed to see them again, and watch the light fade from that scared expression as I tore out your heart…"

The humans and ship girls were quite taken aback by this display, and even Genji took a few steps backwards.

"You're truly out of your mind…" the IJN rear admiral managed as he struggled to remain calm.

"Admiral Drake!" Battleship Princess shouted, her demented grin returning. "I want to claim your life!"

Kaga stepped in front of her admiral, her expression firm even in the face of the Abyssal's insanity.

"Stand down, monster," Kaga said, a small hint of anger creeping into her tone. "I will put an arrow through your skull before you can ever hope to lay a hand on the Admiral."

"Oh? I'd like to see you try, bitch," the Aircraft Carrier Princess chimed in, also grinning fearsomely and stepping forward.

However, the Battleship Princess raised her hand to stop the Airfield Princess, causing the latter to frown in annoyance.

"Excuse me, I lost myself for a bit there," Battleship Princess said, her tone returning to normal though her smile remained. "Nevertheless, be certain that I will kill your admiral, and you as well if you get in my way. But that is getting off-topic. We came here to talk, did we not?"

"Are you really in any shape to be talking sensibly?" Nagato demanded angrily.

"Yes. As I said, please forgive me for my outburst; it will not happen again."

"If it does, I'll smash your face in, desu!" Kongou shouted, eager to finally get in on the action.

The Battleship Princess laughed, this time in a much more controlled manner. "Yes, much like you did last time, no?"

As Kongou raged, Kaga turned to steal another glance at her admiral. Drake wore a frustrated frown on his face, his eyes downcast. He was clenching his fists angrily, and Kaga could see that he was slightly trembling as well. He had not said a word since the Abyssals had arrived on the shore.

"Excuse me, but what would you like to discuss, then?" Miiro said, finally regaining the courage to speak.

"What do you know about the Abyssals?" the Battleship Princess asked. "Moreover, what do you even know about your own ship girls? Where do they come from? Why are they here?"

"Ah… Many think the ship girls are here because of the intense feelings associated with warships and those who fought on them during World War II," Miiro answered a bit unsurely.

"Is that all? Well, that is not too far off, though I profess that I am no expert either," the Battleship Princess replied. "War does indeed bring out the most intense feelings in people. Those feelings of heroism, the will to fight, brotherhood, the elation that comes with a hard-fought victory… All those majestic emotions are wrapped up in the soul of a warship, which is both the site and the instrument of countless battles. And it is those feelings which allowed that soul to manifest itself as your ship girls, physical entities with the properties of both the warship and the humans who fought on her."

"... But why did those feeling suddenly decide to manifest now?" Nagato asked, a bit surprised to learn this information about herself. "It has been decades since the conclusion of World War II."

"Think about it. Those feeling of bravery and gallantry during war, when are they most needed? When facing a fearsome enemy."

"... So the Abyssals," Kongou concluded.

"Indeed."

"Then what about the Abyssals?" Genji asked. "Where the hell did you come from, and why are you here?"

The Battleship Princess smiled again, but instead of her previous sinister grins, this one was tinged with sadness.

"You will notice that all the feelings I described that go into a ship girl's soul are positive ones, but I am sure we are all aware that in addition to the intense good feelings war brings, there are strong terrible emotions as well. How many people have died in intense pain, their futile screams rending the heavens? How many have thought that they died for nothing? How many have died wishing they had never joined the war effort in the first place? How many have left this world with thoughts of family and friends they will never be able to see again? How many have left with regrets? With wishes left unfulfilled?"

Battleship Princess paused. "... Those horrible, painful feelings are the ones that make up the soul of an Abyssal. Though we are the inverse of ship girls, the concept behind our existence is essentially the same; we are all products of war. But you must wonder, which is stronger: the positive feelings in war, or the negative ones?"

She turned her gaze to Drake, freezing him in place. "All those in war walk a fine line between righteous killing and outright slaughter, and that is why the line between ship girls and Abyssals is just as thin. We both hate each other because we know we each could have just as easily ended up in the other's place."

"So… You came to this island just to tell us this?" Genji summarized with a frown.

"You are an angry, rude human, aren't you?" the Battleship Princess smirked. "But even you cannot comprehend the feeling of having your very soul fueled by all the worst possible emotions a human can experience. You would likely go insane if you had to deal with such a thing, but alas, this is the burden that every Abyssal carries."

"You didn't answer the question," Nagato pointed out.

Battleship Princess scowled. "I want you all to understand why we Abyssals are so intent on killing every single one of you. It was you humans who created us, you know. That torturous pain of warfare that you have all sown among yourselves throughout history? It is finally coming back to punish you. Now you will suffer for your actions, and you will pay your righteous dues."

" _Fuck you!_ "

Kaga jumped at the sudden yell from behind her, and she turned to see Admiral Drake, his mouth contorted into a vicious snarl and his eyes blazing with unbridled fury. The rest of the group turned to look at him, also shocked by his sudden outburst.

"Fuck you, you hypocritical cunt," Drake seethed, stepping forward. "You dare speak the words 'righteous' and 'punish'? You would dare presume that you have some kind of moral authority? Go fuck yourselves! Do you know how much violence and pain you yourselves have spread since the beginning of your misplaced crusade?! How dare you think that you can punish humans for creating those terrible feelings since you yourselves are doing much worse!"

Even the Battleship Princess seemed taken aback by Drake's sudden change in disposition. "Oh? You were so quiet before. You are finally done shaking like a leaf behind the protection of your ship girls? Hmph… Though you act tough now, I know what you really are, and I have known since the day that I locked gazes with you at Tangier: you are a coward. A coward who would gladly sacrifice the lives of others to protect his own. It is your brand of scum that is most damaging in war."

Drake grit his teeth, and his eyes darkened.

"Yeah, I am a coward… Yes, I used the lives of others to save my own… But you… You're the ones who made me this way!"

He clenched his fists and fixed the Battleship Princess with a killing stare. "You bitch… If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have had to do any of the things I did. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have to live with that guilt… If it weren't for you, I would have never had to find out exactly what type of person I am… For that, I will never forgive you. It was a fatal mistake for you to come here without the intent of killing me, because I promise you, I will stop at nothing until all of you Abyssals are nothing but lifeless wrecks festering away at the bottom of the ocean. _I will kill each and every last one of you!_ "

As Drake panted angrily, the adrenaline finally wearing off, the Battleship Princess stared at him, an expression of wonder on her face.

"Those eyes… Though with different feelings, they amaze me once again," she said breathlessly. "Admiral Drake… You truly are a coward, but you are the type of coward who will fight until his last breath to prove that he isn't one… Marvelous… I must face you in battle again, and I will take your life in the end. Those who struggle the most have the sweetest deaths. I look forward to it."

She then turned to the other two Princesses, and the Abyssal trio headed back onto the water.

"This summit is over," Battleship Princess stated with a content smile. "Until we meet again."

The Abyssals sailed off into the distance, and no one said a word.

* * *

Kaga looked out the window of one of the cabin rooms on the super jet cruiser _Rabaul_. She could see the deck of the ship from here as it sailed back to the Tokyo Bay Base, which meant that she could also see Rear Admiral Drake, who was leaning on the railing of the ship, staring out at the sea.

"He's still out there…" Nagato noted as she walked up beside Kaga.

"Maybe someone should go check on him," Kongou suggested.

Nagato turned to her. "Why don't you do it, then?"

"Er… Kaga should. She's his secretary ship, right?"

"Perhaps he would like to be left alone," Kaga stated, though her eyes didn't leave the window.

"Yeah, I've never heard him yell that loudly before, desu," Kongou said with a frown.

"I had known that both Admiral Drake and the Battleship Princess had been at the Battle of Tangier, but I never assumed that they knew each other personally," Nagato said as she crossed her arms and glanced out the window again. "Did you know that, Kaga?"

Kaga shook her head. "No. When we last spoke to her, the Battleship Princess did not seem to recognize his name. Perhaps she only knew his face."

"To be honest, I didn't understand half the things they were talking about," Kongou groaned as she leaned back in her chair. The cabin room contained a small table, and the three ship girls had been seated around it, drinking tea from packets that Kongou had somehow found.

"Yes, it seemed their issues were more… Personal," Nagato agreed. "But what the Battleship Princess said about ship girls and Abyssals did interest me. I never thought much about how we came to be, but I suppose that answers it a bit."

"Uh, that didn't answer shit," Kongou scoffed. "All that did was confuse me more, to be honest."

Kaga turned back to the two battleships. "Regardless, her words changed nothing. The Abyssals are still our enemy, and they must be rooted out and destroyed completely. They have no peace for us, and we will respond in kind."

"I suppose we can agree on that as well," Nagato nodded. "But it is strange… I never thought I would be brought back from the grave to fight a new enemy which is essentially hatred itself. Interesting times, this is age is."

"Eh, 'hatred personified' or not, that edgy cunt annoys the hell out me," Kongou grit her teeth. "She was acting so smug… I would've loved to wipe that stupid smirk off her face, desu!"

Nagato grinned. "Oh? Careful. I might just get to her first, you know. If your showing last time was anything to go by, then you've got a lot of work to do before you can even think of facing her again."

"Heh. Just you watch, I'll be the one fucking _her_ up next time!" Kongou declared, flexing her biceps.

The rest of the ride back to the base went by uneventfully, though Kaga noticed that Drake remained out on the deck the whole time. She constantly debated going out there and seeing if there was anything she could do, but knowing her admiral, she felt he did not want to be disturbed. Nevertheless, the ship eventually reached the base early in the evening, and so they all disembarked together. When they stepped out onto the docks, Miiro and Nagato immediately began discussing how they needed to tell the government and the Sasebo Base about the meeting. Kaga figured that she and Drake would also need to write up a report, but before she could ask him about that, her admiral was already walking off, his hands in his pockets. He was going in the opposite direction of the Administrative Building, so Kaga assumed he was going back home.

 _I suppose I will need to write it myself, then,_ she decided with an internal sigh as she watched the American's back grow smaller in the distance.

Hoping that her admiral would be back to normal tomorrow, Kaga began heading back in the direction of the Administrative Building. When she entered, she at first began to head towards the main office, but after today, she also wanted to be alone, so she instead went towards Drake's private office. Flicking on the lights and stepping around the kotatsu, Kaga sat down at the desk, which was just barely big enough for three people to work simultaneously on, though it did get cramped at times. Thankfully, this time she was by herself, so she had as much space as she needed. Usually when doing work in here with her admiral, Kaga used a spare old laptop provided by the base in case she needed a computer, but seeing as Drake wasn't there, she decided to forgo using that slow excuse for a machine and instead turned on the main desktop. She briefly wondered if she should be using the computer, but it wasn't as if it was the admiral's own personal equipment, so she decided it should be fine. When the monitor flashed to life, the user ID of 'TEITOKU' came up, along with a space for the password.

Kaga narrowed her eyes. _There's a password for this?_

Not remembering this detail, Kaga tried a few passwords. She first typed in 'USA,' which was promptly rejected. Thinking for a bit, she then went with 'burgers,' which also turned out to be wrong. Suddenly, she remembered: the Admiral had in fact told her the password.

Frowning in distaste, Kaga typed in the password: 'kagaiscute'. Sighing, she watched as the computer accepted the password and brought her to the home screen. The Admiral had specifically made that the password to this computer because he knew it would embarrass her, and he was definitely right about that. Even so, Kaga tried to ignore that and began writing the report. However, as she typed out the events of the day, her mind kept wandering back to the looks in her admiral's eyes: fear, shame, rage, disappointment… Even as someone who did not have a good grasp of human emotions, Kaga could still discern those feelings clearly, and she could understand what the Battleship Princess meant about Drake's eyes.

"Oh? You're back?"

Kaga looked up to see Akagi standing in the doorway.

"Where's the Admiral?" Akagi asked, glancing around the room as if she expected him to be hiding under the kotatsu or something.

"He went home," Kaga replied.

"I see…"

Akagi came in and sat down on the single chair across from the desk. "I take it the meeting did not go so well?"

"... I suppose you could say that."

Akagi sighed. "I knew nothing good could come from meeting them… What happened? Or are you not allowed to tell me?"

Kaga paused. Though she had known Akagi for a long time, somehow she felt that it would be wrong to describe what the Admiral had said today. Not that she could even fully explain what she felt in words anyway.

"The Abyssals basically just said that they have no intention of a peaceful resolution to this conflict," Kaga opted to say instead. "It seems we will fight until all of us are dead or we have sunk them all."

Akagi, noticing Kaga's downcast attitude, tried to cheer her up. "Well, isn't that the same thing Japan said during World War II? But we ended up surrendering anyway, right? Maybe the Abyssals will do the same."

That analogy comparison certainly didn't make Kaga any happier.

"Ehehe… Sorry, that probably wasn't the best example," Akagi apologized.

Kaga sighed lightly. "Even so, I think the Abyssals really mean it when they say that… And as much as I hate to admit it, I think it will be much tougher for us to defeat them than it was for America to beat Japan back in the War."

Akagi smiled. "You worry too much, I think. Things will be different this time."

"How can you be so sure?" Kaga replied, looking down at the desk.

"Hm… I suppose I can't. But still, I'm not going to waste this new life I've been given by sitting around and worrying."

Kaga gave her a blank look. "Then you're too carefree."

Akagi laughed. "Oh, relax. As long as we don't get overconfident, we'll be fine. We've even got the Americans on our side now."

The red-clad carrier noticed Kaga's expression drop slightly when she mentioned the Americans.

"So… How is the Admiral?"

Kaga blinked. "... He's fine."

"Right…"

"What? You don't believe me?" Kaga glared at her comrade.

"Kaga… You always act emotionless and neutral, but sometimes, it's extremely easy to tell what you're really thinking."

Sighing again, Kaga leaned her head on her fist. "... Not you too…"

"Oh? Did someone else talk to you about this before? Was it Houshou?"

Akagi took Kaga's silence as an affirmative, and she grinned at her own intuition. "Haha! I knew it. Anyway, back to what I asked. Are you going to tell me, or are you just going to sit there and sulk?"

Kaga frowned deeply, but she gave in. "Today at the meeting, the Admiral… Well, he did not seem to take to the Abyssals so well."

Akagi raised an eyebrow. "And what does that mean, exactly?"

"First he froze up in fear, then he got very angry at them and started shouting. But the whole time, I could tell that he was in great pain."

Akagi's mind flashed back to the day of the air raid on the base, and how the Admiral had appeared out of it then as well. "I see… I assume that's why he's not here right now?"

Kaga nodded slowly. "… Perhaps he needs some rest for now."

"Maybe you need some too," Akagi pointed out. "Why are you still here in the office? If the Admiral's not going to do his work, do you really have to do it for him? Go home and rest."

"Why would _I_ need rest? I did nothing," Kaga bitterly said, looking away.

"But who's going to worry for the Admiral if something happens to you?" Akagi pointed out with a teasing smile. "If the Admiral isn't feeling well, then someone's got to help him out, right? And you can't do that if you yourself aren't feeling well either."

Kaga looked conflicted, but she eventually got up and turned off the computer. "Fine. Putting this off for one day won't do much harm, I suppose."

"That's the spirit! Now let's go home. I'm sure Zuikaku has been very worried about you, haha!"

* * *

Rear Admiral Richard Drake sat on the edge of the pier, one leg dangling lazily above the midnight blue water while the other was pulled up towards his chest, his forearm resting on his knee. It was a cool night, but Drake simply wore his admiral's coat loosely around his shoulders, revealing his form-fitting black t-shirt underneath. A good number of stars were visible in the clear night air, and Drake's listless brown eyes stared up at them, his gaze as distant as the celestial bodies he was looking at. Slowly, he shifted his vision from the night sky and towards the dark water.

 _Just how many corpses are under there?_ He wondered.

A slight sea breeze made the hairs on his arms stand up, but he paid it no heed. As much as he tried to distract himself, his thoughts lingered on the Abyssals.

 _So the Abyssals are a physical manifestation of the negativity of war, huh? No wonder they're so edgy._

They were monsters, he thought, and today's events only made him more certain of that. However, what it also proved to him was that he himself was no better.

 _The Abyssals… At least they have a reason why they're so messed up. Me, on the other hand… My actions resulted in the deaths of thousands, and for what? To save my miserable life?_

Drake knew that his commands at Tangier had also saved the lives of the handful of personnel still alive at the end of the battle, but he didn't care about that. When he made his decision to use the dying USLN fleet and the city of Tangier as bait, his whole goal was to survive. He did not even spare a thought about anyone else, and if he had to sacrifice the lives of everyone else on that ship to stay alive, he probably would have done so as well.

 _All I've done is just use other people as a shield,_ he realized. _Back at Tangier… Even today, I just stood behind Kaga, too scared to act like a proper commander._

The whole day had just been one big embarrassment for Drake, and he knew he had just acted like a child. First, he stood scared behind his own subordinates, then he threw a tantrum, next, he sulked off when he got back to the base, and finally, he was here, sitting around and whining to himself about his problems. It truly was a pathetic showing, and all Drake could do was wallow in his misery.

He wanted to be angry at something, and naturally, the obvious target was the Battleship Princess and the rest of the Abyssals. Even so, he knew the true source of his anger lay within himself. Sure, he could pop off all he wanted about how he was going to take revenge on the Abyssals, but at the end of the day, he understood that the Abyssals didn't instill in him the qualities that he had; they had simply revealed those ugly truths for him.

 _I wonder… If I do eventually defeat the Abyssals, would those people who died that day be content with having their lives ended so early? Would it be worth it to them? Would they think, 'Oh yes, I am glad to have sacrificed my life so that Drake could defeat the Abyssals'?_

Drake already knew the answer to that question. Though sacrificing your life for a greater cause may be the 'noble' thing to do, only you yourself can make that decision. Someone else forcing a decision upon you was not nearly the same.

 _In the end, all I can do is fight,_ Drake supposed. _Even if they won't ever forgive me… That is the least I can do._

That was why he felt so sick after remembering how cowardly he acted today. Someone who truly cared about the lives he took would stand up to the Abyssals, empowered by the thought of making those wrongs right. However, someone who froze up when he saw the enemy? Well, that could only mean that he still feared for his own life and placed his own survival above all else. Drake tried to convince himself that caring about your own life first and foremost was only natural, but when he recalled all those other lives he had stamped out… His one, single life that he was so obsessed with protecting did not seem so significant after all.

Drake stood up. Adjusting his cap, he looked out at the vast black ocean.

 _In the end, I will try to fight regardless. If I end up failing and I die a coward's death, perhaps that is what I deserve. If the weight of the souls I have used ends up crushing me, then I have no right to complain._

The rear admiral turned away from the water.


	25. My Promise I

The soft sway of Bachata music drifted throughout the room of Drake's private office as the American reclined in his chair, a glass cup filled halfway with scotch in his hand. He stared lazily at the ceiling, his admiral's coat unbuttoned. It had been a day since the meeting with the Abyssals, and to be honest, Drake was still feeling like shit. However, he realized that he had a job to do, and so he resolved to push his personal troubles to the back of his mind and get on with his work. Though he decided that, Kaga had not shown up on this cloudy day, so Drake ended up just lazing around instead of doing any real work.

 _I wonder… Does she hate me now? Maybe she thinks I'm a weak, pathetic loser._

Though Drake wouldn't blame her if she thought that, he knew her well enough by now to recognize that she didn't see him that way. Even so, he wondered why she had not arrived promptly at the office like she usually did. He thought she might be sick, but if that were the case, he was sure that she would have called him or something to let him know beforehand. He briefly wondered if something so serious had happened that she was physically unable to call him, but then he realized that someone else probably would have told him if that were the case. Either way, Drake just wasn't up to the task of hunting her down today.

However, the door to the office then opened, and sure enough, there was Kaga. The carrier wore a brief look of surprise when she saw Drake, though that was quickly replaced by her usual emotionless facade.

"Admiral. You're here."

"I suppose I am."

He didn't say anything else, so Kaga spoke again. "I'm sorry, I thought you would be in the main office. I looked in there first, but then got held up when they explained the news about the Abyssals to me."

"... News?"

Kaga blinked in confusion. "The Fleet Admiral or Nagato didn't tell you?"

 _Yeah right, like I could show my face to them after yesterday._ "No, I didn't go in there at all today. Is it important?"

Kaga entered the room and sat down at her usual seat beside Drake before explaining.

"We don't have many details yet, but it appears the Abyssals are gathering a massive force around Okinawa," she said. "Based on the level of activity and number of ships we've seen traversing that area, this appears to be a fleet larger than the ones at Tangier and Los Angeles combined."

"Another major operation?" Drake asked.

"It seems that way, sir. Also, the Princesses guarding Bethlehem have disappeared. It is possible that they will also partake in the next Abyssal offensive."

"That's something to look forward to," he spat sarcastically. "So what is their goal? Attack Okinawa? That's the only thing of importance in that region."

"Perhaps. Or they could simply be goading us into a decisive battle," Kaga posited.

Drake smirked. "Yeah, Fleet Command's not dumb enough to fall for something like that. The Abyssals know that they can only bring us out to fight if they're directly threatening something of value, which means they'll need to attack Okinawa. And if they're going to do that, we will have the benefit of land-based support as well as the entirety of Japan's naval strength. They're not taking that island without a fight."

Kaga nodded. "I assume that is why their fleet is so large. Nagato also said that if Abyssal activity continues to increase, then we may receive reinforcements from the Grand European Fleet and America as well."

"So it's pretty serious, then…" Drake took a sip of his drink as he leaned back in his chair and mulled the briefing over.

"It would be the largest battle so far in the war, so yes," Kaga agreed.

"Probably the largest in history if this battle actually ends up happening. The biggest before this was Leyte Gulf, I think," Drake mused. "But anyway, what are we supposed to do? Did they give us any new orders?"

"Not that I know of. It seems International Fleet Command has not decided what they will do as of yet."

Drake sighed lightly as he absently tapped the side of his glass with his fingernail. "Great. I wish they'd at least give us some more information other than just, 'There's a huge enemy force gathering off Okinawa.' That doesn't really tell me much."

Kaga didn't have anything to say to that, so Drake just decided he might as well start work now. He still had to write that report about the Abyssal meeting to send back to his own government, though Fleet Admiral Boston probably already received and read Miiro's report at INFCOM already. In addition to that, there were still the various daily logistical issues that needed to be dealt with, so Drake steeled himself to slog through them now that Kaga was here to help. However, when he started off by checking his email, he noticed he had received a message from INFCOM.

Curious, he opened it up and read it. The email seemed to be about the gathering Abyssal forces off Okinawa, and it pretty much told him nothing new now that Kaga had already informed him about the situation. The only extra thing it added was that the rate of Abyssal reinforcement to that sector of the ocean was abnormally rapid, and so INFCOM was working on an immediate strategy for a defense of Okinawa. It also made it a point to say that the other ship girl fleets would be assisting, and that if Okinawa were attacked, its defense would most certainly be an international operation involving multiple countries.

 _So it seems some of the complaining we did at that conference actually went through to them._

After reading that email, the gravity of the situation began to dawn on him. He seriously doubted the Abyssals would be marshalling such a huge force for no reason, so in his mind, a fleet battle was more or less inevitable.

 _I suppose now isn't the time to worry about other things,_ he thought, referring to his lingering anguish over yesterday's events. He was sure this upcoming battle would require the bulk of his attention.

Someone knocked on the door to Drake's office, causing Kaga and the rear admiral to look up. A moment later, Nagato entered.

"Sorry to intrude… I didn't know you were here, Admiral Drake. Did Kaga already inform you of the situation?"

"Yeah," Drake simply replied.

"Ah, right then." Nagato seemed to be avoiding his gaze. "W-well, I just came to make sure. Sorry to interrupt."

She closed the door, and Drake frowned to himself. Nagato was acting strangely, and he knew exactly why, but then again, that was his own fault. Prior to yesterday, his image to most of the base's members was probably that of a quiet but competent commander, but he was sure that everyone was present at the meeting no longer saw him that way. He again thought that Kaga was the exception, but that was because she already knew about his 'issues' beforehand.

Suddenly, the blaring of air raid sirens went off, causing Drake to nearly jump out of his seat. He looked at Kaga, who appeared to be equally as surprised.

"... The hell is that?" Drake wondered as he went over the window and cracked it open. He stuck his head outside and looked up at the sky, but he couldn't see anything.

Kaga joined him at the window. "Another enemy air attack?"

"Doesn't seem like last time, though," Drake said as he continued to try and locate where the supposed enemy planes were. "If it were someone like the Airfield Princess again, the sirens wouldn't go off until it was too late. I don't see anything in the sky, so I guess this is an advanced warning."

"What should we do?"

"Shelter in the basement, I guess. These buildings are all made to have underground bomb shelters, so we should just wait the raid out. Not like we can sortie in time to stop it," Drake answered, not eager to be caught in yet another Abyssal bombing run.

The admiral and his secretary ship went out of the office and into the hallway, where they found Ooyodo, Mutsu, Nagato, Miiro, and Genji all standing around as well.

"What's going on right now?" Genji asked with a deep frown. "Rear Admiral Drake, is it another air attack?"

"How should I know?" Drake replied.

"Can Wo-classes even fly their planes this far?" Mutsu asked worriedly.

Genji turned to Drake again. "Well? Or is this just another thing you don't know despite being the carrier officer for this base?"

"Again, I'm not a carrier officer," Drake bluntly pointed out. "But yeah, Abyssal planes should be able to reach here if the Wo-classes are close enough to the shore. If they're close to shore, though, they would easily be spotted, which is probably why the air raid sirens are going off despite their being no enemy planes in the vicinity right now."

"So an advanced warning…" Nagato summed up. "Can we sortie to stop it in time?"

"Probably not…" However, Drake then rethought his assessment and decided he might as well send someone out anyway. It couldn't hurt to try. "Actually, Kaga, go see if you can at least get your flight deck and arrows on in time."

Kaga looked a bit reluctant to leave, but she nevertheless nodded and ran out of the building to get her equipment. Drake began walking towards the staircase as well, trying to get to the basement.

"Where're _you_ going?" Genji asked.

"Uh, the basement shelter? Unless you all want to stand up here where you have a much greater chance of being killed."

Genji blinked. "There is no basement in this building. How did you not notice that?"

Drake wore an incredulous look. "What? Why would they design these buildings without air raid shelters?"

"I wouldn't be privy to that knowledge," Genji rolled his eyes. "But I suppose we might as well head down to the lobby anyway."

The group decided to go to the lobby to avoid potentially being trapped upstairs if the building caught fire or something, and when they got there, they noticed that many of the people in the lobby also had expressions of fear, confusion, or both. A few sailors who were sitting by the Starbucks came over and asked what was going on, and as Miiro and Genji dealt with them, Drake slowly ventured towards the windows, wanting to see if the enemy bombers were visible yet. He himself wasn't feeling too excited about another air raid, but he was resolved not to act like he did during the last one, especially given yesterday's events.

When Drake peered out the window, he actually did manage to see something in the sky. His eyes widened as he thought the bombers were approaching, but he then noticed that something was different. The bombers usually flew a bit lower and slower, but these planes seemed to be moving fairly quickly. Also tailing the Abyssal aircraft were a trio of fighters which appeared to belong to the Imperial Air Force. The much larger fighters chased after the Abyssal planes, and the zoom of their engines came and went as the fliers came and went over the base with surprising speed.

"What the...? Those weren't bombers," Genji stated, having joined Drake at the window along with Miiro and the ship girls.

"Perhaps they were doing surveillance of the base?" Nagato offered, though she also seemed confused.

The sirens suddenly stopped, indicating that the base was no longer under threat of an air attack. Drake subtly let out a breath he had been holding, relieved that he wouldn't have to experience another bombing run. He then noticed Kaga, who was walking fairly quickly back to the Administrative Building.

"I'm sorry, sir," she said as she entered. "I wasn't even able to make it to the Equipment Building in time to intercept them. They did not appear to be bombers, though."

"I wonder why the Abyssals would scout this base if they're attacking Okinawa…?" Mutsu asked.

"Perhaps to gauge our strength?" her sister suggested. "Even if they're not directly attacking us, they know this base's forces would participate in that battle."

Whatever the reason for the presence of the Abyssal planes, Drake no longer felt like sitting in his office and doing paperwork after that, so he simply walked out of the Administrative Building. He wasn't sure what the others were planning on doing, but he didn't really care either. Ever since the meeting, Drake had felt the slow burn of frustration smolder underneath his collar, and right now, he just couldn't deal with it. Thankfully, his unique position in the Kancolle program meant that he essentially had no boss or commanding officer he needed to directly answer to on the base, so it wasn't as if anyone could stop him from doing what he wanted.

As he walked out onto the streets of the base, he heard someone following him. Pausing, he turned around to see Kaga, who also stopped when he did.

"Did you need something?" he asked a bit gruffly.

Kaga blinked. "No, sir. Did you not want me to follow you? I assumed you were going somewhere important."

Drake turned back around, frowned and continued walking. "I'm not even going anywhere in particular. You can come if you want or you can go and finish whatever work's left in the office. I don't really care."

As he continued on, he heard Kaga's footsteps resume, so he sighed to himself and slowed his pace so that she could catch up and wouldn't just be following him around like some sort of errand girl.

 _You know what? I could use another drink,_ the admiral thought as he changed course to Houshou's pub. Kaga wordlessly accompanied him, and when they arrived at the small establishment, they saw there were a few people already present.

"Hey, come on, you're a ship girl, you can take it," Zuikaku urged Fubuki, whom she was seated next to. The destroyer seemed to be staring a cup of what looked like sake.

"Um… I don't know…" Fubuki responded, recoiling slightly as she sniffed the drink. Shoukaku was also present, as was Shiranui and and a few other destroyers whom Drake didn't recognize.

"C'mon, don't be so scared!" Zuikaku egged on before noticing Kaga and Drake. "Oh, you two? What, you're taking a break already? Or did the air raid sirens scare ya?"

"Zuikaku…" Shoukaku sighed.

Drake ignored her and sat down next to Shoukaku. Kaga took a seat beside the admiral, and Houshou, who was wiping down a part of the bar on the far end of the room, walked over once she saw them.

"Ah, welcome," the motherly carrier greeted warmly. "Would you like something to drink?"

Kaga shook her head while Drake glanced over at Fubuki, who was nervously raising the glass to her lips.

"I'll have what she's having, I guess. Also get one for my secretary ship too, please."

Houshou nodded and moved off to complete their orders. Drake knew that it was probably too early in the day to be drinking, but he'd already had a glass today, so at this point he didn't really care.

"So, um, what were those air raid sirens for, sir?" Shoukaku asked him. "A false alarm, right?"

"There were some Abyssal reconnaissance planes doing a flyover," he explained.

"The hell? Are they going to attack the base?" Zuikaku asked.

"Let's hope not," Drake curtly replied.

"That's… Not very reassuring."

"Well, if you really want to know, then they're going to attack Okinawa soon," Drake told her. "So them flying over this base was just a scouting out of our forces, ammunition, and stuff like that. It's preparation for then."

"T-they're attacking Okinawa?" Fubuki cried out in surprise, overhearing the conversation. She blushed when everyone turned to look at her. "... Sorry."

"That's what it looks like," Drake confirmed, now that he had the attention of all the room's occupants. "Be prepared for the fight of your life. Looks like it's going to be a big one."

"Cheery news," Zuikaku sarcastically muttered. "So is that why you're here drinking?"

Drake smirked. "Nah, I've got other problems… But yeah, I suppose that's one more to add to the list."

"Um, I'm sure we'll be victorious in the end!" Shoukaku tried to cheer him up. "Right, Kaga?"

"We do not know their strength or their strategy. Success cannot be assured at this moment," Kaga answered bluntly, causing Shoukaku's face to fall.

Drake stifled a chuckle at Kaga's characteristic rejection and Shoukaku's reaction. For some reason, he felt a bit better now that he was out of the office and not doing work, even though he still ended up talking about the Abyssals after all.

"Hey, Admiral Drake!" one of the destroyer's who Drake didn't know called out. She had light brown hair and wore a similar uniform to Shiranui, so Drake assumed they were sisters. "Shiranui here says you'll buy us all drinks if we ask nicely! Is it true?"

"I _never_ said that," Shiranui growled emphatically.

"Go for it," Drake replied nonchalantly. He hadn't spent much money since he was first posted here, so he could probably afford it. Given that he'd basically been doing whatever the hell he wanted today, there was no point in stopping now.

A few of the destroyers cheered at that, and Houshou arrived with Drake and Kaga's drinks.

"Quite kind of you, sir," Houshou noted after Drake's announcement.

He shrugged. "Might as well try and raise morale after what I just said about Okinawa."

Drake took a sip of the sake. He wasn't enough of an expert on Japanese alcohol to tell what flavor or type it was, but as long as it got the job done, it was fine by him. He glanced at Kaga out of the corner of his eye, and the carrier seemed to be looking at the drink strangely.

"What's the matter? Don't like alcohol?" Drake asked her, remembering that she didn't drink at the party aboard the USS _Glorious Tears of Liberty_ either.

"I don't dislike it, but I prefer not to cloud my senses with it," she answered. "But since you already bought it… It would be rude to refuse."

"Er, you don't have to -"

Before Drake even finished his sentence, Kaga had drank the contents of the glass as if it were water, not even flinching as she did so. She placed the cup back on the bar, her expression as calm and stoic as ever.

"Wow, you drink like a hardened alcoholic," Zuikaku noted with a smirk.

Kaga gave her a pointed look. "Don't be jealous because you can't hold your liquor."

"I totally can!" Zuikaku bristled.

"Oh really?"

"Yes! I'll prove you wrong right here and now!"

"Uh, please don't get into a drinking contest," Drake interrupted. _My wallet wouldn't like that either._

The two carriers calmed down after that, though they still refused to stop glaring at each other, resulting in Drake and Shoukaku being caught in the middle.

"Ehehe… I apologize for my sister, sir," Shoukaku said sheepishly.

Drake shook his head. "It's all right. I'm pretty used to this now anyway, unfortunately."

The American then felt someone tap on his shoulder, so he turned to find Shiranui standing there with her usual serious expression. The pink-haired destroyer held a piece of paper in her hand.

"Sir. Commander Keats left this behind before he left," Shiranui said, handing the folded piece of paper to him. "I've been carrying this around for a while, but I forgot about it until now. I apologize, but I looked inside to see if it was important. It doesn't seem to be very informative, though."

Curious, Drake unfolded it and read its contents, which was really only one sentence which appeared to be hastily scribbled:

22 MEN KILLED IN BRISBANE

Drake raised an eyebrow. "Uh… What does this even mean?"

Shiranui frowned. "I wouldn't know, sir. I thought you would have a better idea."

Drake rubbed his chin and leaned back in his seat as pondered the message. His first thoughts were that this was a code of some sorts, and this theory was the most likely considering the message was pretty much nonsense otherwise. However, he couldn't help but think of other possibilities as well. A terrorist attack? No, he would have heard about it on the news by now. A serial killer? Also probably would have been on the news. A cover-up of a failed US operation or an Abyssal attack? The possibilities were far and wide, especially since the message didn't even give a hint as to who those men were.

"I've got no idea what this is," Drake admitted. "However, I think it's safe to say that we probably weren't meant to see this."

He glanced over to the three carriers, who all averted their gazes. It was obvious that they were eavesdropping, so he supposed the message wasn't so secret anymore.

"Any of you know what this means?" he asked them since they had already seen it anyway.

Zuikaku shook her head. "Where even is Brisbane? Australia? The message is kind of creepy, to be honest."

"What, Keats didn't share any of this information with his ZuiZui?" Drake smirked at her.

Zuikaku groaned. " _Please_ don't you start calling me that too…"

"I think it's cute, ZuiZui," Drake teased some more, enjoying her discomfort. He sort of understood why Boston found it so fun to call him 'Dick' all the time now.

"Going back to the message," Shoukaku cut in, getting them back on track, "perhaps it is a code of some sort?"

"Yeah, that's what I thought," Drake agreed. "Seems like a strange thing to use as a code, but whatever. Who knows what the SEALs are up to."

"So it isn't possible that the message is literal and that twenty-two men have actually been killed in Brisbane?" Kaga asked.

Drake frowned. "I mean… It's possible, I guess, but if that really happened, I would think it would be on the news by now. Unless it was part of a secret operation or something. Did any of you notice any of the SEALs acting weird before they left?"

Zuikaku, Shoukaku, and Shiranui shook their heads. Fubuki had also come over once she noticed her fleetmates talking about something, and her confused eyes were currently fixed on the message. So much for keeping it a secret.

"You don't know what this means either, do you, Fubuki?" Drake asked her, deciding it couldn't hurt to ask.

"No, sir. Sorry…"

"Eh, whatever," Drake concluded as he stuffed the note into his pocket. "I'll ask one of my superiors about it later. Not like they can blame me for reading something that was left here."

As much as Drake loved a good mystery, it was pointless to worry about something that likely had nothing to do with him when he would be facing much more real dangers in the near future. The admiral then sat around at the bar for a few more minutes before paying and leaving, deciding that he should actually get back to work at some point. Kaga dutifully followed.

When the duo re-entered the Administrative Building, something playing on the television that was mounted on the right wall of the lobby caught Drake's eye. He paused momentarily to listen to what appeared to be some sort of Japanese news report.

" _... Approximately twenty-two American soldiers were reported to be killed in a blast caused by an electrical failure aboard a transport craft located in the port of Brisbane, Australia,"_ the anchorwoman spoke. " _As of now, further details are not known, but a joint American and Australian investigation will begin looking into the issue…"_

 _So that's what it was? That's terrible,_ Drake thought, frowning to himself. It was one thing to die in battle, but dying in an accident like that while in military service was especially unfortunate. Personally he didn't think that it diminished their contribution to the military even if they died in that way, but even so…

"I suppose that question has been answered, then," Kaga remarked, also looking at the news report.

"Yeah…" Drake started, but then realized something: why would Commander Keats write something like that down on a piece of paper, as if it were an urgent message he needed to remember? He also seemed to have got the information about the accident a few days before the mainstream media picked it up, but was there any reason for that?

"But why would that SEAL commander need this information?" Kaga then asked after thinking about it some more, echoing Drake's own questions.

"That's what I was wondering too," the rear admiral replied, still staring thoughtfully at the television. "Maybe the soldiers who died were also SEALs? The news report didn't say. But even then, would Commander Keats really need to know that?"

"Perhaps those men were under his command as well?" Kaga suggested.

Drake scratched his chin absently. "Does Keats even command that many people? I thought he was just in charge of that squad. Those soldiers who died over in Australia probably aren't part of his squad, though maybe they worked together or something…? Anyway, an 'accident' doesn't really sound like that's all there was to it, but we don't have anything else to go off, so I guess we'll have to accept it…"

* * *

Fleet Admiral Wei walked into the dimly-lit boardroom, frowning as he took in the heavy atmosphere. Already seated at the large oval table in the center of the room were the other fleet admirals in the United States Liberation Navy: Cassius, Boston, and Van Dyke. The four fleet admirals were the only ones in the room, and they made full use of the space, sitting far away from each other as they waited at the table.

"Ah, am I late? Sorry," Wei greeted with an apologetic grin.

Boston and Van Dyke didn't bother replying, but Cassius sent him a disapproving look, indicating that he was in fact late.

Cassius cleared his throat. "... Now that everyone is here, I suppose we can get started. The first order of business should be the most obvious, and one that everyone here already knows about. We have recently recovered two new ship girls, namely the jeep carrier Gambier Bay and standard carrier Intrepid. Naturally, this addition more than doubles the airpower of our fleet and greatly increases our strike capacity. We still lag far behind Japan, but I believe that the addition of these new ships make our navy the second strongest in the world right now. The two ship girls are currently deployed in the Gulf of Aden under the command of Rear Admiral Wilma Blake, undergoing a brief training program while simultaneously serving to help curb the resurgent pirate threat in the region. Though neither one of the ship girls has come into actual contact with Abyssal forces yet, we still have plans to deploy them in the upcoming operation. Any objections?"

The other three admirals remained silent, so Cassius decided to change the subject.

"The British and Russian ship girl fleets have also gained new warships, but both of them seem to be destroyers. Those new additions are nothing to be concerned about in terms of a threat to our forces."

"But it's not like the UK or Russia were planning to attack us anyway," Wei pointed out as he lazily reclined in his seat, stifling a yawn.

Cassius frowned. "... Right, but we can never be too prepared. The Citizens Council has ordered us to draft up proposals in case of an attack by any other ship girl fleet, which we have done. I presume you've looked at those, Admiral Wei?"

"Uh… Yeah," Wei unconvincingly replied.

Cassius sighed, but decided it would be pointless to say anything else to his fellow fleet admiral.

"All right, then. Now, moving onto the upcoming operation -"

"One more thing," Fleet Admiral Van Dyke interrupted in his deep, raspy voice.

Van Dyke was a well-built man in his forties. He had brown hair peppered with flecks of gray, and he had a gruff-looking brown beard as well. His eyes were hard and cold like steel, and his solemn yet focused expression hinted at experience that went far beyond the average. The most mysterious of the USLN's fleet admirals, Van Dyke had become a fleet admiral immediately upon entry into the Liberation Navy. He was appointed directly by the new Citizens Council after the Great Churning and regime change had removed almost all of the previous military heads, and nobody knew where he came from or what his background was like. It was rumored that he was part of some sort of elite special forces group that helped put the Citizens Council in power, but there was no proof of that, so his actual identity remained unknown. Either way, like Fleet Admiral Boston, he clearly had some sort of previous military training, and sailors in the USLN who had seen Van Dyke spar liked to joke that the man could probably take out an Abyssal with his bare hands.

"The news of that business in Brisbane has been released to the public," Van Dyke continued. "Of course, the actual details have been redacted, and it has been presented as an accident caused by an engineering failure. The news report just broke today, so I don't know if any of you has seen it."

Admiral Cassius nodded, but Boston and Wei looked confused.

"Waaaait… What are we talking about again?" Boston asked, seemingly interested in the conversation for the first time.

"I also have no idea what's going on," Wei added with a smile.

Cassius sighed again. "Don't you two ever read the briefings you get?"

"I read them most of the time," Boston defended.

"Clearly."

"Damn, man, just tell me already!"

"Twenty-two Navy SEALs were killed in action during a reconnaissance mission in Brisbane, Australia," Van Dyke informed them. "That group was sent there in order to investigate sightings of an albino woman in that area."

Boston chuckled. "What, we hunting albinos now?"

"Think about it for a second," Cassius impatiently said. "That 'albino' is obviously supposed to be an Abyssal."

"Yeah, but I thought this happened on land," Boston shot back.

"It did, which is the strange part," Van Dyke answered. "Since the albino in question was seen on land, dressed like a normal woman, we did not initially assume that she was an Abyssal. There's also the fact that no Abyssal has ever wandered ashore before."

"Why did they call her an albino?" Wei asked, sitting up slightly. "As far as I know, the only pictures of Abyssals that have been released to the public are those of the more common type, like the I-class destroyers or the Wo-class carriers. Neither one of them look like actual albinos, except for maybe that the Wo-class also has fairly pale skin. I think it would be pretty obvious to tell the difference between an albino and an Abyssal, so how'd they get mixed up?"

"Well, the woman in Brisbane was reported to have pale skin, long, white hair, and red eyes," Van Dyke said. "So no, she does not seem to be a standard type of Abyssal. We think that she may be a Princess, given her appearance."

Wei narrowed his eyes. "So she looks more like a normal albino… But still, that doesn't make sense. If she looks like an albino, how did the people who reported her know she was actually an Abyssal?"

"They didn't. The few times she was spotted in public, she only got reported because people around her felt a strong, disturbing aura emanating from her. Outwardly, she didn't seem to be acting like an Abyssal or anything," Van Dyke told him. "Normally, feeling a 'disturbing aura' from someone isn't enough for the police to take action, but when you have multiple reports about that from different people, they naturally began to think that something was wrong. Luckily, instead of taking action themselves, the Brisbane police seemed to have passed the information up to the local government and asked them what to do about it. Someone in the Brisbane city council or whatever must have realized the thin link between Abyssals and the woman, because the information was then passed to the national government and then eventually to INFCOM."

"That does sound pretty lucky," Boston agreed. "If the local police had acted too quickly or didn't act at all, we wouldn't even know she was there."

Van Dyke gave a nod. "Ultimately we agreed to keep this sort of information limited to only the highest levels of INFCOM, as it would certainly cause mass panic if it were revealed that there was a powerful Abyssal roaming around on land. Then again, we also weren't one-hundred percent sure that this albino was actually an Abyssal after all, so we had to do some investigating of our own first. That was the purpose of the SEAL team we sent there, but apparently that didn't end so well."

"So what actually happened to them?" Wei asked.

"They were found early in the morning by a local dockworker over at the port of Brisbane. Their bodies and equipment had been completely eviscerated, so we don't know exactly what happened to them. Nevertheless, I think it's safe to assume that the Abyssal caught wind of their arrival and decided to eliminate them preemptively. Can't think of anything else that could do that to a squad of SEALs."

"Damn, that's fucked," Boston summed up as he crossed his arms. "So what are we supposed to do about this?"

Van Dyke's expression remained stony. "That is what we are trying to figure out. Obviously the Abyssal is more aggressive than we originally thought, which was surprising because she hasn't actually harmed any civilians. For now, the Australian government is trying to track her and place her under surveillance as covertly as they can, but aside from that, we don't want the local police force or anyone else getting involved with her. She has made no conspicuous moves as of yet, so we have no idea what she is after… Only that it can't be good."

Wei wore a thoughtful look. "Could whatever she's doing in Australia be related to the offensive the Abyssals are launching against Okinawa?"

"Unlikely," Cassius answered this time. "We've considered that possibility, but we can't come up with anything that the Abyssal could do in Brisbane that would have an effect on a naval battle near Okinawa. Right now, we're assuming that she is part of a different, completely separate operation, or that she's a rogue agent."

"It's best to wait until we can gather more information on this," Van Dyke said. "Until INFCOM comes to a further conclusion on the matter, we'll just have to wait."

"And just how is INFCOM going to come to a conclusion?" Wei asked, a mischievous half smile on his face. "Actually, this is something I've been meaning to ask for a while. INFCOM seems to get its orders from civilian governments like our Citizens Council or the Kaiser or even the Empress of Japan… But how are those governments so knowledgeable on the activities of ship girls and Abyssals? Isn't it _our_ job to inform the governments about what's going on in the war? And yet they seem to be ones ordering us and directing everything we know about the war."

Boston gave him a strange look. "Uh, what? You do know that civilian governments have always ordered the military around, right? At least that's how it works here in America."

Wei shook his head. "That's not what I mean. Yes, civilian governments have always given us orders, but usually their orders are based on information pertinent to the war that _we_ supply. However, the Abyssal War has been different because it's been the governments supplying us admirals with information and then ordering us to act on that information. For example, the technique used to repair ship girls? To decode Abyssal transmissions? To build and rebuild ship girl guns? All that was discovered by a 'team of international scientists.' And yes, that team does actually exist, but did they really come up with all that on their own? How could they possibly do that? They're only human, and the ship girls are essentially beings that are completely out of this world."

"Those 'Fairies' or whatever helped them," Boston pointed out.

"Yeah, but have you ever seen a ship girl's Fairy? They're microscopic, and they live inside their bodies. How could they direct an entire team of scientists?" Wei countered. "My guess is that there is some other organization, perhaps made up of a different kind of Fairies or some other being, helping out the world governments. It would also explain how all these governments came into power at the exact time that the Abyssals first started appearing…"

Van Dyke chuckled darkly. "Boy, I can see why they made you a fleet admiral."

Wei turned to him. "So do you know something about this, Admiral Van Dyke? You _were_ the first fleet admiral appointed in the USLN, after all…"

Van Dyke smirked. "I only know what I've been told, and I think it would be wise for both of us to not overreach our boundaries. Either way, all I'm here to do is make sure the Abyssals are wiped out. Everything else is second to that."

Wei's eyes glinted momentarily before the fleet admiral leaned back in his chair, his expression reverting back to his usual easygoing, lazy one.

"… Yeah, guess it's too complicated to worry about anyway, huh?"

Cassius cleared his throat again. "Well, if all that is done with, then we should move on the main topic of the meeting, which is the Abyssal Spring Offensive against Okinawa. As you all know, or should know, at least, the Abyssals are planning a massive attack against the island of Okinawa in Japan. Unlike the attack on the Izu Archipelago, which was more of a test run, and the decoy attack on Los Angeles, this operation looks like it's going to be a real attempt to wrest control of a significant land mass away from us. The Abyssal fleet that is gathering in those waters is believed to be larger than anything we've ever seen before."

"Don't worry, I think we actually read the reports on this," Boston grinned. "INFCOM Headquarters seems pretty concerned with this too. I hear we're going to be reinforcing the Japanese fleets?"

Cassius nodded. "We need to use everything we can to defend against this. I don't think I need to state why it would be a disaster if the Abyssals were to take Okinawa. The entirety of the Grand European Fleet, Russia, and the United States are all going to be partaking in this operation. The Chinese will also be providing a few warships of their own, but since they have no ship girls, their contribution will be limited to that and the provision of some resources as well. Japanese and American land-based aircraft will also be deployed for this mission, though their effectiveness likely won't be a major factor. Needless to say, our main force will be the Kancolle fleets."

"Sounds like this is going to be tough to coordinate," Wei remarked with a grimace. "Who's going to be in command of the operation? Where is the headquarters going to be?"

"Right, I forgot those things weren't in the report when it was sent out… Well, since the operation does immediately concern Japan, it's been decided that the Japanese Fleet Admiral Reina Umi will be placed in overall command, though she will share strategic command with others, primarily myself, Admiral Helmholtz of Germany, Admiral Boucher of France, Admiral Shelley of Britain, and Admiral Bernini of Italy. Each one of those commanders will probably bring with them a few subcommanders as well as some standard warships of their own, and I believe we have a list of who and what is coming. As for where the headquarters will be, it has been decided that the Tokyo Bay Base will be the main base where everyone will gather and plan out the defense strategy before sortieing. Sasebo is technically closer to Okinawa, but Tokyo Bay has more resources stocked up thanks to us and is actually bigger than Sasebo, which will allow it to accommodate everyone."

"So… What about the rest of us?" Boston asked, referring to the three admirals who weren't going to Japan.

"I was the one ordered to represent the US, so I suppose you are needed in INFCOM while Admirals Wei and Van Dyke are to remain and defend the US," Cassius simply said.

"Report said that the attack would be imminent in the next week or two. What about the civilians on Okinawa?" Wei then brought up.

"They were told about the attack, but only just recently," Cassius answered. "At first it was unclear whether or not we wanted to let the information about a massive impending Abyssal attack get out to the public, but I suppose we have no choice in this case. The Japanese government is helping people evacuate as we speak, but it will be impossible to get everyone out in time, assuming they even want to leave. All the more reason why we cannot lose this battle."

Wei frowned. "So this is going to be the biggest battle of the war so far…"

"Yes," Cassius agreed. "In fact, this defense of Okinawa will probably determine the outcome of the rest of the war. We are throwing everything we can to stop this offensive, and if we fail… Well, let's just say that it is unlikely that we'll be able to come back from it."


	26. My Promise II

Five days had passed since the Abyssal planes had flown over the Tokyo Bay Naval Base in Yokosuka, and since then, things had only gotten more and more hectic. It was now glaringly obvious that the Abyssals were indeed planning a major offensive strike against Okinawa, and the enemy was basically flaunting their strength, not even bothering to hide their activity from radar or sonar. Naturally, International Fleet Command had responded in kind, and they had assembled an enormous coalition navy at the Tokyo Bay Base in order to combat the threat. More and more personnel, ships, and equipment arrived at the base everyday, and the IJN sailors who operated at the docks were certainly being put to work.

Rear Admiral Richard Drake stood in front of the window behind his desk in the main office, staring out at the sea where he watched a carrier strike group sail in from the horizon. He didn't know what country it belonged to, but it would just be adding to the many other task forces that had already arrived at the base.

"Ah, a carrier?" Kaga noted as she joined him by the window.

Drake nodded. "Another one. I never even knew we had this much dock space…"

"I am more impressed by how quickly all these countries have managed to coordinate themselves and arrive at our base," Kaga said. "Doing so with such speed… This certainly wouldn't have been possible back in my time."

"Yeah, technology has really improved since World War II, which is the main reason why we're able to communicate with each other so efficiently. A good thing too, because a lot of wars are lost because of logistical failures. I guess that's why they have the really high-ranking admirals at INFCOM HQ," Drake added.

"So which country does that carrier belong to, sir?" Kaga then asked, her hazel eyes still fixed on the approaching ship.

"I'm not sure," Drake admitted.

He squinted as he tried to get a better impression of the ship's silhouette, but from this distance, it was hard to make an accurate guess. Though the Navy had trained him in identifying warships, the events of the past few years had understandably shifted focus onto the Abyssals, so it was more important for a sailor to be able to identify the class of an Abyssal rather than a standard ship. There was also the fact that after the Great Churning, the world navies had undergone massive overhauls, so many of the new warships were relatively unfamiliar to the average sailor. Still, as a rear admiral, Drake was not supposed to be average, and so he really should have been able to identify the carrier.

"The personnel from America are supposed to be arriving today, correct?" Kaga said, snapping him out of his thoughts. "Perhaps it is an American carrier."

"The Americans are coming today?" Drake blinked.

"It was in the briefing from today that International Fleet Command sent," Kaga informed him, hiding an amused smile. "I take it you haven't read it yet?"

"Yeah…" Drake admitted, embarrassed. Now that he had taken a second look at the carrier, it could very well be one of the new _Liberty_ class vessels.

The thought of having more American personnel at the base was something that Drake was actually not looking forward to. Ever since he had been promoted to rear admiral and had been posted in this base in Japan, Drake had pretty much been able to work however he wanted. INFCOM sent him orders, and he had to write reports to them daily, but there wasn't actually a commanding officer on base that he needed to report to. During his time in the Kancolle Program, Drake was basically his own boss for the most part, and for once in his naval career, he was the one in charge. However, now that the Americans were arriving, he was sure that there would be at least a handful of people who would outrank him. It was back to the days of saluting and being at the beck and call of his superiors… He just hoped that they wouldn't make him do mandatory physical training and wake up at 0400 like they used to back when he still served aboard ships.

 _Eh, at least it's only temporary._ Even so, going back to that sort of lifestyle now that he has truly tasted freedom would be awful, so he was hoping that his superiors would go easy on him in terms of rules and regulations since he was technically an admiral as well now.

"Did Fleet Command issue an official battle plan for the defense of Okinawa yet?" Kaga asked her admiral. "Or perhaps it was in one of the reports that you missed, sir?"

Drake gave a her a disapproving glance. "That last part wasn't necessary… But no, there's been no official battle plan that I know of. Considering people and ships are still arriving on the base, I guess they're waiting for everyone to get here first."

"But the Abyssals could attack at any time, could they not?"

"Yeah. Maybe INFCOM didn't have time to put together a coordinated plan yet? I don't know. I suppose we were too hasty in praising them for their logistical skills," Drake smirked.

Kaga frowned. "But this battle seems like it will be the most important one of the war so far. Losing Okinawa to the Abyssals would be unthinkable…"

"Yeah."

"... Are you worried about the upcoming battle, sir?"

Drake raised an eyebrow as he turned to her. "Am I worried?"

Kaga lowered her gaze. "I'm sorry. That wasn't appropriate for me to ask."

Drake thought he understood what she meant now. "... I'll be fine. With so many other admirals and assets on our side, I feel a lot more confident fighting with them… It's just that… I really need to win this battle."

Kaga noticed that he said 'I' and not 'we.' "Sir?"

"I mean, aside from this possibly being the turning point in the war, I just can't lose to them again," Drake said, his eyes darkening. "Every time I feel like I've beaten them somehow, they just come back and hand me another defeat. Even after we sunk the Submarine Princess…"

Their fleet had not gone on any sorties after the successful defense of Hachijo-jima, so Kaga could only assume that he was referring to the meeting with the Abyssals.

"They've embarrassed me for the last time," Drake continued, a noticeable edge in his voice. "I refuse to let them keep pushing me to the ground. I…"

He noticed he was beginning to ramble, so he stopped himself. "... So yeah, I just don't want to lose again. I guess that goes for everyone, though."

"Indeed it does. And we won't lose," Kaga assured him with a small but confident smile.

"Admiral Drake, you are wanted at the docks," Ooyodo's voice then called out.

Drake frowned. "Guess that means that those are the Americans after all…"

Since the upcoming operation had piled up a fair amount of work on Drake's desk, Kaga stayed behind to continue at it while Drake began heading towards the docks. It would probably take some time before the ships actually found a berth and the personnel disembarked, so Drake's pace was fairly leisurely as he strolled through the base's streets.

Unlike the vast majority of the time, the base was actually bustling with activity today, and had been for the past few days. Sailors, most of them Japanese, walked throughout the streets, some of them on break while others lugged around heavy objects or carried them in the golf carts that were present on the base. However, there were also a lot of foreign sailors, most of them German or French since those two countries' fleets had already arrived at the base. None of the sailors running around the base paid him any attention, which was expected since everyone was busy and nobody was really eager to pay their respects to a foreign navy's admiral.

Unfortunately, there were some downsides that came with the arrival of all the new temporary personnel. Firstly, there was the crowding factor. The spare apartment block that remained empty for situations like this was filling up fast, and some of the more higher-ranking officers actually decided to live off-base instead of cramming themselves into an apartment. The restaurants on the base were also often packed, and though Houshou and Mamiya were able to make a good amount of money off these new arrivals, Drake himself was annoyed by the lack of seats and higher wait times. Mamiya's restaurant even ran out of forks yesterday, so Drake had been forced to resort to chopsticks, which still gave him trouble despite his having lived in Japan for months now. On top of all that, there was the fact that a bunch of sailors (mostly men) were now living on a base filled with some of the world's most beautiful women, which was almost always a recipe for disaster. Technically the sailors weren't allowed to have relations with the ship girls and Drake hadn't heard of any incidents yet, but who knew what actually went on behind closed doors.

When Drake got to the docks, he found that it was packed with sailors who were rushing around, probably trying to organize resource drops or where the next ship should dock and things like that. Luckily Drake didn't need to deal with any of that stuff himself, so he leaned on a pillar of one of the dock buildings, crossed his arms, and stared out at the ocean, waiting for the American fleet to arrive. The cool spring breeze softly tickled his skin, and he could see the sun beginning to peek out from behind the clouds.

"Hey, you're Rear Admiral Drake, right?"

Drake turned around to see a man with light brown hair and brown eyes. He was dressed in the green slacks of the United States Liberation Air Force, and he seemed familiar.

"Yeah. You're that pilot who flew us to California," Drake recalled.

The man smiled. "Yep. The name's Brackett, by the way. I was just curious if you remembered me."

"Remembered your face, but not your name," Drake nodded. "So you're flying in resources again, I guess?"

"Actually, no. Me and my air squadron are stationed here for combat," Brackett said, gesturing behind him where there were a few more pilots milling about.

"Oh, the Air Force is participating in this mission too?" Drake noted as he glanced at the other USLAF personnel. "I knew the Imperial Air Force was, but I didn't think we were as well."

"Yeah. Well, not the entire Air Force. It's just the squadrons that are normally stationed on Okinawa," Brackett explained. "My squadron in particular usually flies from there to here to America and stuff, so right now they've just told us to use this as our home base until the operation's over."

"Ah, I see," Drake replied. He certainly did not want to be in their place during the fight, as casualties among human pilots who faced Abyssal aircraft were always insanely high, which is why it normally wasn't even attempted anymore.

"Man, must be nice to be on this base with all these pretty girls," Brackett then said, though currently they were surrounded by IJN dock workers, so the statement seemed a bit weird. "So you get lucky yet, Admiral?"

Drake smirked. "What, and get my ass kicked by the Japanese government for messing around with a ship girl? Our navy would probably fire me as well."

"Yeah… Probably still worth it, though."

The two of them chuckled at that, and Brackett said his farewell afterwards and headed into the base. Drake waited by the docks for some time before he finally watched the carrier and her escorting ships pull into harbor. He then had to wait even longer before people started coming out from the ships, but when they did, he put away his phone which he had been using as a timekiller and quickly straightened himself up.

One of the first people to exit the carrier and arrive on the docks was Fleet Admiral Cassius, and Drake snapped a salute as the old officer approached. Cassius returned his salute.

"Rear Admiral Drake. How have things been at the base?"

"Fine, sir. It's gotten fairly busy in the past few days, but as far as I know, there have been no major issues."

Cassius nodded. "Good to hear."

The rest of the group then arrived as well. It seemed like most of the regular sailors were still stuck aboard their ships as they finished the docking procedure, so the only ones exiting right now were the upper ranks. The familiar faces of Iowa, Saratoga, and Gambier Bay were also among the officers, and there was one other girl with light brown hair and blue eyes who Drake didn't recognize. She looked to be a ship girl, so Drake assumed she was Intrepid, the new carrier who was found around the same time as Gambier Bay.

Drake saluted the other officers, most of whom were indeed a higher rank than he was. There were only a handful of them, though.

"This is the new fleet carrier, Intrepid. " Cassius introduced. "I believe you were sent word of her discovery, but here she is in the flesh."

The ship girl in question stepped up and saluted. "Sir."

Drake saluted back as usual. _Looks like I was right about having to do a lot of saluting…_

"Well, anyway, we should get settled in here," Cassius said, looking around the base. "Is there going to be enough space…? Looks fairly crowded around here. Took us a while to find a docking spot too."

"The main apartments should be big enough to hold all the American sailors, but some officers have chosen to temporarily live in Tokyo or the suburbs," Drake told him. "As for the ship girls, there is plenty of free space in their dorms, so that shouldn't be a problem."

"Where're you living, Rear Admiral?" one of the officers asked him. Judging by his stars, he seemed to be a vice admiral.

"I, uh, have a small flat on the edge of the base, sir," Drake said, not wanting to reveal that he probably had the most space and the most convenient location among all of them.

"Hey! We can stay with Admiral Drake then!" Iowa cheered.

"...No." Cassius flat-out rejected her. "But I suppose it makes sense that you have the prime location here, Rear Admiral, since this is your home base after all."

"Ah, the Americans!"

Drake turned around to see Fleet Admiral Umi walking towards the group with a grin. She and the Sasebo Fleet had actually been the first ones to arrive at Tokyo Bay, which made sense since she was the overall commander of this operation.

"Fleet Admiral Umi," Cassius nodded to her.

"Fleet Admiral Cassius! Welcome to Japan! You are looking well," Umi greeted with her accented English. "Is Admiral Richard here going to show you around?"

Cassius looked at Drake before turning back to the Japanese admiral. "Not particularly. Did you need him for something?"

"Indeed. I have just finished with the basic structure of the fleet for our upcoming operation, so I was going to give it out to all the admirals. I will be sure to send one to you as soon as you have found a chance to rest."

"Right, thank you. Well, he's all yours."

With that, Fleet Admiral Cassius and his group headed off towards the interior of the base, leaving Umi and Drake together on the docks. The clamor of the IJN sailors went on in the background, almost drowning out the soft sound of rolling waves.

"That guy's a real hard-ass, isn't he," Umi laughed, now switching to Japanese.

Drake just stood there, unsure of whether it was appropriate to laugh along with her at a joke made at his superior's expense.

"But anyway, here."

Umi handed Drake one of the manila folders from the small stack she was carrying under her arm. The American curiously opened it, revealing a packet of papers within. Labeled on the front cover were the words, 'OPERATION SEPPUKU' in English.

"Ominous name," Drake remarked.

Umi smirked. "It's what we will be doing if we fail, haha! Besides, I'm sure a lot the foreign officers won't understand it anyway, so I thought I would have fun with it."

"Right…"

"Please read that over as soon as you can," Umi continued. "Once you do, you'll notice that I structured the fleets a little differently. I think it is for the best this way, given the scale of this battle."

"Differently?" Drake repeated, flipping through the pages to see if he could find what she was talking about.

"Basically I have decided to break up the fleets and instead classify them based on ship type," Umi clarified. "For example, you won't be commanding the girls you're used to, but instead you'll be in charge of all standard carrier ship girls."

Drake raised an eyebrow as Umi spoke and he finally located the page with the fleet divisions on it. "Wouldn't it be better to just keep the fleets together? I mean, those girls know me by now, and I know them. I'll be commanding new ship girls in this formation."

"Are you saying you are only able to command girls you know?"

"You know that's not what I meant," Drake said with a frown. "I trained every ship girl in my fleet, and they're used to my command by now. It seems disadvantageous to split us up."

"Aw, is Admiral Richard getting possessive of his girls now?" Umi smirked at him.

 _God, she can be annoying when she wants to,_ Drake thought, not even bothering to give that a verbal reply.

Umi laughed again. "Relax, it's a joke, a joke! I do see your point… But think about it this way. If we have it so that all the Kancolle commanders are all commanding their individual fleets, what's going to happen if we need a concentrated carrier air strike on one part of the battlefield? Or if we need a battleship charge to break through the enemy lines? Or if we need the submarines to head to different locations to harass the enemy in specific places? In a battle of this scale, those things happen, and if we are just commanding our fleets individually, we will spread ourselves too thin."

Drake thought it over. _She does have a point…_

"Why me for the carriers, though?" Drake asked. Considering how important air power was in modern naval combat, that was a huge responsibility he was being given.

"Your secretary ship is a carrier, no? On top of that, you nearly sank the Airfield Princess when you sortied with the _Kido Butai_. I think you are qualified, unless you are saying otherwise."

Drake shook his head. Outright admitting that you couldn't handle something you were assigned was akin to career suicide in the military. "I'll do it."

"Great! Start formulating a battle plan now, and you can get to know the other carriers as well if you want. We'll be counting on you, okay?"

Drake only managed a nod before Umi hurried away, presumably to deliver the rest of the formation outlines.

 _Well… Formulating a battle plan right now is out of the question until I can coordinate with the other commanders,_ Drake thought as he looked down at the packet. _But I guess I can read through it and see what I can do for now. I should also probably let the carriers on base know that I'll be commanding them for the upcoming sortie._

Heading back towards the Administrative Building, Drake sighed as he walked. Though he had to admit that Umi's plan made sense, he still didn't like the idea of not commanding his own fleet during battle. Was it true that he was attached to them now? Or did he simply want to hoard the fruits of his training for himself and prevent anyone else from getting a taste? He assumed it was the latter, but given that such a way of thinking was dumb, he sighed again at himself.

"You're looking down, Admiral."

Drake turned to see Zuikaku, who was grinning at him teasingly. She was by herself, which was rare.

"Where's Shoukaku?" Drake asked, wondering why Zuikaku wasn't with her sister.

"I think she's in the baths… Why're you asking? You like my sister better than me, don't you?"

Drake smirked at her. "And what if I do?"

"Right, because she's too nice to you," Zuikaku scoffed. "No wonder you'd like her."

"Calm down, I don't actually like her better. I try to treat everyone equally," Drake said, amused. "And she's not 'too nice to me.' Do you know how many times she's made passive-aggressive comments whenever I let the work pile up and she has to put in overtime?"

"Heh. Passive-aggressive _is_ being nice. If I were in her place, I'd do without the 'passive' part," Zuikaku said in a boastful tone.

Drake shook his head as he continued walking. "I can't even imagine speaking to my superiors the way some of you girls talk to me…"

Zuikaku kept pace with him, apparently walking with him since she wasn't doing anything in particular. "Yeah, but you don't really mind, right?"

"I mean… If someone heard you talking to me that way, there would be unpleasant rumors about how I let my subordinates walk all over me."

Zuikaku giggled. "Then I won't talk that way in front of anyone else. That okay, _sir_?"

"Yeah, yeah."

The two continued on in silence for a bit before Drake decided that he may as well just tell Zuikaku about the formations in the upcoming battle now.

"By the way, the fleet's going to change a bit for the next battle. I'm going to be in charge of all the carriers, so we won't be fighting with our usual composition."

Zuikaku blinked in surprise. "Wait, why? Seems kind of sudden."

"Yeah, I'd prefer to keep the fleet together, but it does make sense to split the ship girls up by ship type for a battle of this scale."

"Hm… So I'll still be part of your fleet, right?"

"It's all the standard carriers, so yeah. Also I'll still have my escorting destroyers and light cruisers, I think."

Zuikaku smiled. "Ah, the other girls won't be too happy about being placed under a different command."

"Oh? Didn't know you all had such a high opinion of me," Drake said with another smirk.

Zuikaku blushed. "T-that's not what I said!"

"Right…"

Zuikaku looked away. "... It's just nice to have a commander you can count on, you know? At least, that's what everyone else feels, I think…"

Drake couldn't hold back a small grin. "That's high praise coming from you. I'm flattered."

"Well don't be!" Zuikaku shouted, still blushing.

"Okay, jeez," Drake backed off, though he was still smiling a bit. "Anyway, this carrier group is going to include some foreign ship girls, so make sure you get along with them, okay?"

"Hmph. If I can get along with an American commander, I can get along with anybody," Zuikaku said.

"You sound confident, and yet you can't even get along with your fellow IJN carriers," Drake pointed out, referring to Kaga.

"That's completely different!" Zuikaku shouted. "As long as they don't annoy me, then I won't have a problem with them."

Her expression then grew more serious. "... So this is the decisive battle, huh?"

"More or less," Drake agreed. "The war won't be over after this, but whoever wins will have a huge advantage. We can't lose this one."

"No pressure," Zuikaku chuckled nervously.

Drake shrugged. "I'm sure everyone knows the stakes. You can almost reach out and touch the tension in the air."

"That's true…" Zuikaku looked down, but then perked up again. "In that case, we won't lose! You're talking to the former head of Japan's carrier force, sir! I'll bring victory to the fleet, just watch!"

"That's the spirit," Drake nodded. "There's no way I'm going to be defeated either, so you're in good hands. As long as you follow my orders, we're going to win."

"Haha, listen to us. I just hope we aren't being a little _too_ confident," Zuikaku grinned.

"Heh. Maybe -"

Drake stopped as he noticed he hit something, then turned to his side a bit to see a group of girls walking by. They looked to be ship girls of a destroyer class, and apparently he had accidentally ran into the one with the purple hair tied with a bell into a long side ponytail while he was talking to Zuikaku. Before he could apologize, the girl glared at him.

"Watch where you're going, you piece of shit!"

The other girls quickly pulled her away and scurried off before Drake could even say anything back, though he was a bit too shocked to do so anyway.

"Uh… Did I hear that right?" he asked, blinking in confusion at the retreating destroyers.

Zuikaku sighed. "Unfortunately, yes. That's Akebono, a destroyer from the Sasebo Base, I think. She's pretty rude in general, but she seems to have an even stronger hate for authority figures…"

"Damn. I can't even imagine how hard I'd get my ass beaten if I called one of my superiors a 'piece of shit,'" Drake said while shaking his head. "Well, whatever. I've been called worse, honestly, but she makes you look like a saint, Zuikaku."

"Oh, please. Don't even begin to compare me to her."

The two of them then went into the Administrative Building, where Drake unfortunately had to get back to work. He asked why Zuikaku was following him around, but she just shrugged and said she was bored. He personally didn't have a problem with it, so he just allowed her to do what she wanted. However, when the two of them reached the main office, they found that it was now packed with IJN sailors and ship girls alike. Fleet Admiral Miiro and Fleet Admiral Umi were both in there as well, and a bunch of other officers were present as well. There seemed to be no sense of organization as the group of people in the packed office chattered among themselves.

"Wow, it's crowded in here," Zuikaku noted with distaste.

"Good thing I have a private office," Drake replied. Kaga had looked up from her work when she noticed Drake and Zuikaku walk in, so the rear admiral jerked his thumb towards the hallway to let Kaga know to come to the private office instead.

Drake and Zuikaku headed down the hall to Drake's office as Kaga slowly pushed her way through the crowd. Drake opened the door to the office, but to his surprise, it was already occupied. Seated at the desk with her legs propped up on it was Gangut, the Russian battleship Drake had seen back in London. In her hand was a glass bottle of Scotch, and she grinned as Drake entered.

"Ah, it's the wolf cub from the ball!" she greeted in English. "Do you remember old Gangut? Ahaha!"

"Ball…?" Zuikaku repeated as Kaga finally arrived.

"There was a ball at London that we had to attend," Kaga informed her, but her blank expression took on a hint of surprise as she saw Gangut seated at the desk. "Uh… Admiral…?"

"What the hell are you doing in my office?" Drake asked Gangut. "And why the fuck are you drinking my Scotch! Do you know how much that cost?!"

"Ahaha! Don't worry, Cub, I saved some for you! Come drink with me!" Gangut merely laughed again.

"Did you really hide alcohol in one of your desk drawers, sir?" Kaga asked with a flat, disapproving tone.

"Wait, you all went to a ball!?" Zuikaku repeated, still fixated on that. "So you danced and stuff? Ew!"

"No, we did not," Drake said, still glaring at Gangut. "That would have been awkward as fuck… It was just some sort of social event. More like a gala than a ball, to be honest."

"Ah, excuse me."

The trio standing in the doorway to Drake's office parted to let a short girl with white hair through.

"Verniy, you're back," Gangut said to the girl. "So?"

"They don't sell vodka at the store here."

"Eh, they don't?"

"How can you be asking for vodka too when you're sitting there drinking my Scotch!" Drake yelled in disbelief.

"And who the hell's Verniy?" Zuikaku asked. "That's Hibiki you're talking to."

"I was called 'Verniy' when I was transferred to Russia after the war," Hibiki said, turning to Zuikaku.

"Why is everyone standing in the doorway?" a new voice asked, and the group looked to see Bismarck walking towards Drake's office.

The blonde battleship wore a look of confusion as she took in the scene, then peeked in through the doorway and saw Hibiki inside and Gangut seated at the desk. Frowning, Bismarck pushed her way into the office.

"Well, it seems some _untermensch_ have crawled their way in here," Bismarck spat with a condescending smirk.

"Oho? Fascist scum like you has no right to talk to me like that," Gangut shot back, pointing the bottle at Bismarck.

"Please settle this elsewhere," Kaga cut in dispassionately. "And Miss Gangut, that is the Admiral's desk you are seated at. Please get up from there."

With a long sigh, Gangut complied, standing up and heading out of the office, but she made sure to give Bismarck a mocking smile on her way out. Bismarck glared back.

"You're not taking that with you," Drake stopped Gangut before she could leave, referring to the bottle she was carrying.

"But this is the only good alcohol I could find on this base!" Gangut whined.

"Yeah, which is why I'm not letting you have it," Drake replied, taking the bottle back.

"Oh?" Gangut smirked as she pulled Drake in by the collar and licked his cheek. The move was so sudden and weird that Drake was too shocked to respond until Gangut and Hibiki had already left.

"... Gross," Zuikaku said. "Just what exactly did you do with her at the ball, sir?"

Drake frowned as he wiped away Gangut's lick with the back of his sleeve. He sat down at his desk and placed the glass bottle back into the drawer at the bottom of the desk, though it was more than halfway empty by now.

"I'd tell you to take care avoiding any diseases from her Slavic saliva, but judging by your own mixed mutt-like ancestry, I suppose you should be fine," Bismarck remarked.

"Wow, lucky me," Drake responded sarcastically. _I can't seem to get any respect today, huh?_ "So did you come here for a reason, or are you just here to annoy me with your Nazi nonsense?"

Bismarck scowled, but she chose not to respond to his jab. "I am here to confirm something: is it true that we will be fighting outside of our normal fleets for the upcoming operation?"

"Yeah. Maybe you'll get to be under the command of one of your Aryan admirals this time," Drake spat bitterly, now in a worse mood after all that had happened this morning.

"That would be ideal, but I believe the battleships are under the command of Fleet Admiral Umi of the IJN," Bismarck said.

"Right…" Drake flipped through the packet he had received from Umi to confirm. "How'd you even know that?"

"One of my comrades heard it from Admiral Helmholtz," Bismarck said. "But still, I don't understand why we are splitting up our fleets. Doesn't that defeat the purpose of training together?"

"Well… The training I gave you is still going to help you even if you're not directly fighting with me," Drake pointed out. "Also, it just makes more sense to split the fleets up by ship type for a battle this large. Just don't do something stupid and get yourself killed, because I won't be there to save you if you do."

"Hmph. As if I would sink that easily," Bismarck haughtily proclaimed.

"You got wrecked by a Swordfish before, so…"

"T-that was in the past!" Bismarck flushed red.

"Sure. But yeah, you should be fine. Fleet Admiral Umi is… Well, she's a fleet admiral, so I guess she has to be somewhat competent," Drake said. "You'll be in the same fleet as Gangut and Iowa, though…"

Bismarck frowned in distaste. "Tch. Unfortunate, but there is nothing I can do about that. Which fleet will you be commanding, sir?"

"I'm in charge of all the carriers," Drake said, leaning back in his chair. "The High Admirals seem to think that I'm some sort of carrier officer for some reason."

"You _do_ have four carriers in your regular fleet," Zuikaku pointed out.

Drake shrugged. "I guess. Technically speaking, I actually might be the most experienced when it comes to ship girl carriers, but that's in relative terms. Before I came here, I actually never served aboard a carrier… I mean, I still haven't aside from the couple days in Los Angeles, but whatever."

"But your knowledge of carriers seems sufficient," Kaga said. "I have not noticed any major flaws in your understanding of our battle techniques."

"I studied carrier strategy and battle theory like everyone else in the navy," Drake simply responded. "Admittedly I was always near the top of the class, but yeah, that's pretty much where all of my knowledge about carriers comes from. I have no actual experience with them."

"You had no actual experience with ship girls either, but you still managed," Kaga said. "I think you will do fine, sir."

"Hm… You know, as long as I have you here to help me, then I think so too."

"Yuck," Zuikaku gagged. "Do you two need the room to yourselves?"

"Zuikaku, what have I told you about acting like a brat?" Kaga admonished.

"'Brat'?! How dare you!"

"All right, all right," Drake broke it up. "Unfortunately, I've got a ton of work to do, so I'd prefer if you two didn't argue in here."

"Apologies, sir," Kaga immediately said, and Zuikaku merely crossed her arms and stuck up her nose.

Drake looked over the packet again. "Actually, first we should form up the new fleet…"


	27. My Promise III

Kaga sighed to herself as she looked down at the packet listing all the ships that would be under the command of Rear Admiral Richard Drake in the upcoming operation. Unfortunately for her, her admiral had been called away by his superiors from his own navy, and Drake had told her to get the fleet together in his stead so that they would at least be familiar with each other when he got back. Kaga was used to the Admiral hoisting his work upon her from time to time, but she wasn't looking forward to having to corral together a bunch of ships from other fleets, especially given that some of them were foreign. Kaga knew that her disposition wasn't as warm as most other girls', so she was wondering if she would even be able to pull it off at all.

"Any reason why you're standing in the middle of the street with that sour look?"

Kaga glanced up to see Zuikaku and Shoukaku approaching.

"Zuikaku! Don't say things like that. That's just her normal face," Shoukaku chided her sister, but that comment didn't really make Kaga feel any better.

"Fifth Carrier Division," she greeted impassionately. "I am busy at the moment, so if you have nothing of value to say, please leave."

"Rude as always," Zuikaku scowled. "What's that you're looking at?"

Zuikaku craned her head over to take a look at the papers. "Oh, the fleet formation?"

"Yes." Kaga moved the papers so Zuikaku could no longer see it, causing the twintailed carrier to frown. "If that satisfied your curiosity, then please leave."

"Oh, stop being an ass. It's not like we're bothering you," Zuikaku countered.

Kaga stared at her. "Is that so?"

"Yeah! In fact, _you're_ the one bothering me with your accusatory tone!"

"If I am bothering you, then I suggest you leave… As I have told you twice now."

"Let's all calm down, okay?" Shoukaku interjected with a nervous smile. "Zuikaku, please don't say anything if you have nothing nice to say. And Kaga, if you are busy with something, then perhaps we can help you?"

Kaga thought about it. On one hand, Zuikaku was sure to get on her nerves at least a couple more times. On the other hand, Shoukaku would be a great help in this sort of task, but she couldn't just tell one of them to stay and the other to leave.

"Fine," Kaga decided, handing the packet to Shoukaku. "That is the list of carriers who will be a part of our fleet in the next operation. We need to find them and make sure that they know that they are in our fleet, who their commanding officer will be, where the Admiral's office is so that they can assemble there later, and other things like that."

"I see." Shoukaku browsed through the list. "It seems five of these girls are foreigners? And the rest of them aside from Hiryuu and Souryuu are from the Sasebo Base…"

"Ugh, Americans," Zuikaku noted in distaste now that she had more time to view the list. "We're really supposed to go and get Saratoga and Intrepid to join our fleet now? They literally fought us in the past. That carrier, Intrepid, was also part of the air group that helped sink me. Like hell they're just going to listen to us. Why didn't the Admiral do this shit himself?"

"You will need to fight alongside them regardless of what happened in the past," Kaga told Zuikaku. "This is no time to be holding onto old grudges. I'm sure the Americans feel the same way."

"Let's hope you're right, then."

"By the way, where is Akagi?" Shoukaku asked.

Kaga gave a light shrug. "Probably eating again, so we can't wait for her. Let's just go and get this done with."

The three carriers then began walking through the streets of the base, but after about a minute, they all realized that they had no idea where they were going and did not have a set destination in mind.

"So our plan is just to wander around the base until we find them all?" Zuikaku said out loud as they stopped. "Somehow this doesn't seem efficient."

Shoukaku wore a thoughtful look. "True… Maybe we should check the archery range first?"

"Weird that we haven't seen any of them there already," Zuikaku mused. "I guess they wouldn't be there since they're not staying in our dorms, but I thought they'd at least come to practice their archery or something."

"Not all of them use bows," Kaga pointed out. "Remember Saratoga? She used what appeared to be a gun of sorts to launch her planes."

"Oh, right," Zuikaku recalled. "Then maybe we should check the shoreline? They could be out there training."

Kaga nodded. "Perhaps that would be best. Let's go."

The group made their way to the beach, but on the way there, they passed by Houshou's bar, and Zuikaku paused for a bit.

"Hey, I'm gonna stop to get a drink."

Kaga frowned at her. "Drinking alcohol so early in the day?"

"Not alcohol! Just like a glass of milk or something. I also want to say hi to Houshou. Maybe she's seen some of the carriers around too."

Kaga sighed, but she followed Zuikaku and Shoukaku into the restaurant regardless. The place was surprisingly quiet this morning, and though that normally wouldn't be out of the ordinary, the restaurants on base were usually packed nowadays because of the influx of people. However, this time, there were only two customers inside, one of which turned and grinned at the group.

"Hmphh evrywn!" Akagi waved at them, her mouth stuffed with something.

"Swallow your food before you talk, Akagi," Kaga said flatly, then turned her gaze to the one sitting beside Akagi. "Graf Zeppelin, was it?"

The German carrier nodded, her pale blue eyes lighting up in recognition. "Ah, Kaga. We meet again."

"Who the hell is that?" Zuikaku demanded, pointing to Graf.

"Mind your manners, Zuikaku," Kaga reprimanded. "That is Graf Zeppelin, a carrier in the Kriegsmarine."

"Oh, she's on our list," Zuikaku noted. "Good thing we came in here, huh?"

"List?" Graf Zeppelin asked curiously.

Kaga gave her a nod. "For the upcoming operation, all standard carriers will be under the command of Rear Admiral Richard Drake of the US Navy. As his secretary ship, I have been given the task of gathering up all the carriers and letting them know about their posting."

"Richard Drake?" Graf repeated, the name sounding vaguely familiar to her. "Right, Bismarck's admiral. Yes, I believe I've met him before. But he's commanding only carriers?"

"Yes. It seems they have decided to split up the fleets by ship type for the operation," Kaga informed her, frowning as she realized she would probably have to go through this again for every ship girl they met.

Graf nodded. "I see… Perhaps a wise decision."

"So, how are you finding Akagi so far?" Kaga asked the German, only because Graf Zeppelin had forced Kaga to tell her about Akagi back when they were in London.

Graf smirked as she glanced at Akagi, who was busy stuffing a croissant into her mouth. "You weren't lying when you said she has a large appetite… She also seems more laid-back than I expected."

"Yes, she is rather easy-going," Kaga agreed. "She is still a capable carrier, however."

"They're talking like she's not even there," Zuikaku muttered.

"Who are those two?" Graf Zeppelin asked, gesturing towards Shoukaku and Zuikaku.

"Ah, forgive me. I am Shoukaku, and this is my sister, Zuikaku. We are also carriers with the IJN."

"I was the last Pearl Harbor carrier left standing in the War," Zuikaku proudly declared. "So just follow my lead in case you need help!"

"But you still lost the war, didn't you?" Graf said.

"Y-yeah, but -"

"Then I have no reason to learn anything from you, do I?"

Zuikaku scowled. "Oh yeah? Well you Germans -"

"That's enough," Kaga cut in. "We will all be fighting within the same fleet, so there will be no room for conflict among us. The moment that happens, we are lost. Leave the animosity for the Abyssals."

Zuikaku directed her glare at Kaga now and Graf Zeppelin merely chuckled, but neither tried to continue the argument, so Kaga considered that a win.

"So will you be going around getting the rest of the carriers together, Kaga?" Akagi asked now that she was finished eating.

"Yes. You should come too instead of just sitting around and eating."

Akagi pouted. "That wasn't all I did! I helped you find Graf, didn't I?"

"Not really," Kaga said. "Either way, let's go. We have plenty more ships to look for."

"Can Graf come too?"

"I suppose."

"All right, let's go then!" Akagi declared, dragging the German carrier with her.

The carriers resumed their trek to the beach, but on the way there, they ran into another pair of ship girls, this time literally as Kongou ran straight into Zuikaku, knocking them both onto the street.

"Ow… Watch where you're going, damn it!" Zuikaku yelled.

"Sorry, desu…" Kongou muttered as she picked herself up. Kongou's companion, a red-haired girl dressed in all white, suppressed an amused grin as she watched them.

"You're the British carrier," Kaga stated, looking at Ark Royal.

The red-haired girl blinked before remembering. "Oh, right. You are Kaga, correct? The Japanese carrier?"

Kaga nodded and explained why they were looking for her.

"Interesting," Ark Royal said after Kaga finished, then smirked at Graf. "So it's one big carrier fleet, eh?"

Graf Zeppelin wore a look of dissatisfaction. "Unfortunately it appears we have to be paired together again."

"Hm? You two don't seem to like each other," Akagi observed.

"Of course not!" Kongou declared, pointing accusingly at Graf. "Great Britain and Nazi Germany are eternal enemies!"

Ark Royal sighed. "You're Japanese, Kongou. You were allied with them."

"I, I knew that, desu!"

 _Good, more in-fleet rivalries are just what we need,_ Kaga thought sarcastically.

"I am curious, though. What is our strategy for the sortie?" Ark Royal asked Kaga.

"Well… We haven't come up with anything definite yet. But we are working on it."

Ark Royal blinked her blue eyes in confusion. "Oh… I heard that the enemy possesses aircraft carriers that have the capability of matching an entire task force by themselves, so I hoped we would have some sort of battle plan in place…"

"We are still trying to organize the fleet itself, so strategy will have to wait," Kaga said.

"Wait, what is this about the enemy carriers?" Graf Zeppelin asked, a serious frown on her face.

"It's as Ark Royal said," Kaga confirmed. "The enemy has more than one aircraft carrier type Abyssal in their fleet who has a flight squadron that is larger than that of four of ours. We at this base have even fought one of them before, and though we did manage to nearly sink her, this was after a fierce air battle and after she had already used up some of her planes to bomb our base."

The German carrier seemed disturbed by this. "Then… We have fifteen carriers ourselves, no? Will that be enough to stop their air groups?"

"There are fifteen of us standard carriers, but we can also count on the light carriers," Kaga pointed out. "Though those girls do have fewer planes than standard carriers… Either way, it is not a matter of pure numbers. We must deploy our planes in a manner that will allow us to strategically outmaneuver the enemy planes. Our anti-air fire will also be put to the test."

"That sounds tough, haha," Kongou chuckled. "Glad I'm not a carrier!"

"I'm sure your battleship opponents will be just as dangerous, Kongou," Ark Royal told her.

Kongou's normally cheerful disposition darkened. "... Yeah. I of all people would know that best, I guess…"

"Ah, um," Akagi cut in, "if we're done talking about these uplifting things, shouldn't we go looking for the others now?"

"Yes, that is probably best," Kaga nodded before turning to Ark Royal and Graf Zeppelin. "It seems there is still another European carrier we have yet to locate… Aquila is her name. Since you two have sailed with her before, do you have any idea where she could be?"

Ark Royal shrugged. "Graf? You know her better than I do."

"I don't know where she is either," Graf Zeppelin replied, but then thought about it some more. "But she did say that she wanted to try Japanese food… Perhaps in one of the restaurants?"

Kaga turned to Akagi. "Did you see her anywhere?"

Akagi looked offended. "I have not been to every restaurant on base this early! Don't ask me."

"Then I suppose we will just have to find her ourselves," Kaga surmised.

"I'll help too," Ark Royal said.

"Same here, desu!"

Ark Royal raised an eyebrow at Kongou. "Wasn't your admiral looking for you this morning? Are you sure you should even be here?"

"It's fine, it's fine!" Kongou grinned.

"But he seemed fairly angry…"

Kaga just began walking towards Mamiya's anyway, not really caring if Kongou came along or not. She chose that restaurant since it seemed to be the most popular one on the base even among the foreigners, so if Aquila really was at a restaurant, it would probably be that one. However, as she was walking, she suddenly remembered something.

"Akagi, is Houshou going to be participating in the operation as well? I saw her name on the list," Kaga asked her fellow First Division carrier.

"Huh? Oh, I guess," Akagi said. "What's the problem? She can shoot just as well as any of us, right?"

"Yeah…"

Though Akagi did have a point, Kaga was more used to Houshou being a warm, motherly figure rather than a comrade-in-arms. Houshou's armament was also a bit more dated than the other carriers', so there was that as well. Still, Kaga felt it would be insulting to Houshou if all the carriers except for her went out and fought, and it wasn't as if she could convince the admiralty to not let Houshou sortie anyway. They would need every bit of strength that the ship girls had to offer.

Kaga was snapped out of her thoughts when she felt Akagi nudge her. As Kaga turned her attention back to her surroundings, she saw that walking the opposite way on the street were two of very people they were looking for: Saratoga and Intrepid. Kaga herself didn't actually recognize Intrepid on sight, but she did look like a ship girl and was walking with Saratoga, so she thought she could rightly assume that she must be Intrepid.

"Oh, hello," Saratoga greeted, albeit a bit cautiously.

Kaga gave her a nod. "Saratoga. And the one with you is Intrepid, I presume."

Intrepid smiled at her. "Yep! You're one of the carriers who was sunk at Midway? Nice to meet ya!"

Kaga frowned a bit at that reminder, but she decided not to comment on it. She couldn't expect cooperation from everyone else in her fleet if she herself didn't try to get along with the other ship girls.

"We were actually looking for you two," Kaga continued. "Admiral Drake is commanding all the carriers in the next operation, and he wants us to form up the fleet, or at least let everyone know that they are part of his fleet and where his office is."

"A carrier fleet…?" Saratoga repeated. "Hm… I see."

"Oh, Admiral Drake's the guy we met on the docks, right?" Intrepid asked Saratoga. "Wow, didn't know he was such a big deal around here… Oh, Zuikaku, is that you?"

Zuikaku looked startled at being called out. "Y-yeah! What about me?"

Intrepid laughed. "Hey, don't look so scared! I'm not gonna hurt you or anything."

"I'm not scared!" Zuikaku vehemently denied, stepping forward.

"Woah, okay, I believe you," Intrepid said, clearly holding back laughter.

Unfortunately, that only served to make Zuikaku angrier.

"Oh, so you think you're so great just because you and your buddies sunk me back in the war, huh? You had an unfair advantage and you know it! You wouldn't stand a chance against me in this day and age!"

Kaga resisted the urge to facepalm. _Zuikaku… Why?_

"A challenge? All right," Intrepid crossed her arms confidently. "Looks like you need to be reminded just how much it hurts to go up against an American carrier."

"Um, let's not, please," Saratoga meekly tried to stop them.

"Yeah! A good old-fashioned brawl, desu!" Kongou yelled, completely drowning out Saratoga.

"You're making this worse," Ark Royal groaned.

"Fine with me," Zuikaku growled. "Maybe a taste of this asphalt will teach you a lesson."

Intrepid scowled. "That threat would actually scare me if it came from someone who actually put up a decent fight before sinking."

Zuikaku's only response was a vicious snarl as she rushed at Intrepid, and before Kaga could stop her, the twintailed carrier launched a punch at Intrepid. Intrepid, however, seemed to be expecting this, and she was able to grab Zuikaku's wrist and freeze the Japanese carrier in her tracks. Zuikaku was forced to stop as Intrepid's strength locked her in place, but she quickly turned the tables by sweeping out Intrepid's legs from beneath her, causing the American to let go of her wrist. Intrepid fell to the ground with a short gasp, and before she could get up, Zuikaku was already on top of her, holding Intrepid's neck in the crook of her elbow in a headlock.

"Idiot! I'm trained in CQC!" Zuikaku boasted with a savage grin as Intrepid struggled to break free from a position where she couldn't use her full strength.

Kaga took that moment to step in and pull Zuikaku away, throwing her fellow carrier to the ground and away from Intrepid. Saratoga likewise knelt down to help Intrepid up.

"What the hell?!" Zuikaku spat at Kaga.

Kaga shot her an icy glare. "You imbecile. This is the exact sort of thing I told you to avoid."

"Fuck you! Can't you see that she's the one who started it?"

"Even if she did, you are the one who escalated the situation," Kaga admonished. "What were you thinking? Did you really expect that you could just have an open fistfight in the street like this?"

Zuikaku opened her mouth to reply, but she quickly shut it as her eyes filled with surprise. Kaga followed Zuikaku's gaze and turned around, only to come face to face with her admiral.

"Admiral…! I…"

"It's all right, I saw the whole thing from a distance," Drake said, an amused smirk on his face. "This isn't really what I meant when I told you to gather the fleet…"

Kaga spared another quick glare at Zuikaku before bowing in apology. "I'm sorry. It's my fault for not stopping them sooner."

"It's all right," Drake assured her. "I guess expecting things to go peacefully when bringing together old war adversaries in the same fleet was asking too much."

"A-Admiral, I swear it wasn't my fault!" Zuikaku tried to argue, getting to her feet. "She -"

"I already told you I saw everything," Drake cut her off. "Whose fault it was doesn't matter. What matters is that my superiors are going to kick my fucking ass if they find out that the fleet I'm supposed to be commanding against the Abyssals is instead busy fighting among themselves."

"I'm sorry, sir," Saratoga said. "We were too confrontational. It won't happen again."

"Yeah… Sorry," Intrepid apologized as well, though much less enthusiastically.

"Whatever," Drake sighed. "Just don't let this happen again. If you do this on the actual battlefield, the Abyssals will kill you. Remember that."

Drake turned his gaze to the rest of the ship girls who were assembled, then looked at Kaga. "So this is all you've managed to assemble so far?"

"I'm sorry," Kaga apologized again, looking at the ground.

"I didn't really mean it that way… Anyway, it looks like we're still missing five."

"Five…?" Kaga thought there was more than that, but she then noticed Hiryuu and Souryuu, who had apparently arrived here with her admiral.

"Admiral Drake told us about the fleet already," Souryuu explained when she noticed Kaga looking.

Kaga nodded, then glanced back at the packet. "So then… Aquila, Taihou, Unryuu, Amagi, and Katsuragi have still yet to be informed."

"Yeah," Drake nodded. "Aquila is Italian, I think, and since the others are Japanese, I'm guessing they're from Sasebo… Wait, why is Kongou here?"

"Hello!" Kongou greeted with a cheery grin. "Did you miss me, Admiral Drake?"

"Genji was looking for you, you know," Drake told her. "He seemed pretty pissed off, actually."

Kongou cringed. "Er… Really?"

"He's in charge of the light cruisers, so I'm guessing he needs someone to help him organize that," Drake said. "And that someone is probably you…"

"But I'm hanging out with my British friends!" she protested, putting a hand on Ark Royal's shoulder.

"Oh yeah, that reminds me," Drake then said, "There was some unfortunate news I was told this morning. Fleet Admiral Lockhaert of the Royal Navy passed away last night from a heart attack. Don't know if they told the British fleet that yet."

Ark Royal's blue eyes widened in surprise, so it was evident she hadn't been told. "The Fleet Admiral is dead?"

"Seems like it."

"I see," Ark Royal replied with a frown. "So, this operation…?"

"It's remained unchanged," Drake assured her. "Admiral Lockhaert was the head of INFCOM, but he wasn't directly involved in this, so technically it doesn't affect our plans."

Ark Royal crossed her arms and sighed. "... Still, it doesn't seem like a good omen for this operation…"

Drake shrugged. "If you believe in that stuff. Personally, I don't. Anyway, we should stop standing around here and find the last of the carriers so we can get to actually planning strategy."

"Right, sir," Kaga straightened up. "We came here to look for Aquila in Mamiya's. We don't know her exact location, but we guessed she might be in there."

"Eh, good enough. Let's go check it out, then."

Drake moved off towards Mamiya's, but when he began walking, he noticed the entire pack following him. He turned back to them with a confused look.

"Uh…"

"Perhaps it is good that they come along, sir," Kaga said, lowering her voice. "It is unlikely that they will fight each other in your presence, and it is best that they get used to each other as soon as possible."

Drake thought about it, then agreed. "Yeah, you're probably right. Let's go, then."

With the carriers and Kongou following, Drake opened the door to Mamiya's restaurant, but just as he pulled the door out, someone walked out and slammed right into his chest. The red-haired girl fell to the ground, rubbing her nose.

"Uh, you all right?" Drake asked.

"Aquila, there you are," Graf Zeppelin said when she saw the girl. "Why are you on the ground?"

"So you're Aquila?" Drake held out his hand to help her up.

"Ehehe… _Grazie_ ," the Italian carrier said as she accepted Drake's hand and got to her feet.

"I'm Rear Admiral Richard Drake of the USLN. I'll be commanding the carriers for the upcoming operation," Drake introduced.

"Ah… I am Aquila, carrier of Italy," she said with a small smile. "I will be under your care then, sir."

"All right, now the last four," Kaga started, but before she could say anything else, she noticed that the ship girls they needed to find were actually already approaching them.

"Um… Would you be Rear Admiral Drake?" the short one with brown hair asked Drake unsurely. Kaga recognized her as Taihou, and the three girls with her were the Unryuu-class carriers.

"Yeah," Drake answered. "Who're you?"

"Oh, um, I'm Taihou," Taihou quickly added, then gestured towards the other carriers. "This is Unryuu, Amagi, and Katsuragi. We're from the Sasebo Base. Fleet Admiral Umi told us that you were going to be our admiral for the next operation, so…"

Drake nodded. "Yep. Good thing you came to us since now we don't have to go looking for you. How'd you find me?"

"Well… The large group of carriers you're walking around with was hard to miss, sir," Taihou said with a small smile.

"Yeah, I guess. We should get out of here, by the way. I think we're blocking the entrance."

The group then headed back towards the Administrative Building, with Kongou finally splitting off from the carriers in order to avoid her admiral. On the way back, Drake told Kaga a bit more about the operation, specifically what the other fleets were like and who was commanding them. One thing they both found strange was that Fleet Admiral Miiro was actually put in charge of the light carriers, which meant that he was below Drake in terms of command. The listed hierarchy for the carriers placed Admiral Helmholtz of Germany as the man in charge of all carrier operations, though there were specific sub-commanders who would actually be commanding individual fleets. Admiral Helmholtz would be in charge of 'overall strategy,' but in reality, he would likely just command his own carriers while the US admiral commanded her own and Drake led the ship girl carrier fleet, with Miiro technically below him in terms of who had the final say in strategic decisions.

Speaking of the US carrier commander, it looked as if Admiral Belle, Drake's old instructor, would be in charge of the two American carriers taking part in the battle. Strangely enough, Drake hadn't seen her when Fleet Admiral Cassius and his staff disembarked, so he assumed she would be arriving sometime soon.

As if to prove his point, as the group walked past the beach, Drake saw two more familiar ships sailing into port, accompanied by a handful of guided missile destroyers. Now _these_ were ships that Drake could definitely recognize from their silhouettes, given that he served aboard one of them: the _Freedom_ -class battleships. Built as part of the new Naval Rearmament Act, these warships were made for the sole purpose of combating Abyssals, and as such, they were faster than any battleship that had come before them. Instead of regular 16-inch guns like the _Iowa_ or planned _Montana_ -class battleships, the _Freedom_ class possessed two massive railguns each, capable of firing precise, long-range, rapid shots with admittedly reduced firepower. Given the nature of their Abyssal opponents, these railguns were the optimal choice because they could fire faster and rotate much more quickly than standard guns could.

However, when put into practical use during actual battles (like Tangier), it was found that the evasiveness and speed of Abyssals had been vastly underestimated, and though the railguns could kill an Abyssal with one shot, they would overheat if they attempted to keep pace with the enemy. Nevertheless, the battleships were here, and they would be put to use. Perhaps if an Abyssal were distracted in the din of battle those guns could actually do some damage.

"They must have been expensive," Akagi noted as she also looked out onto the sea.

Drake nodded. "Yeah… Even with America's military budget reaching new heights, the government still had to divert money away from other branches of the armed forces to pay for things like these. And yet those things can still be sunk in seconds, sending billions of dollars down the drain. Compared to them, even _you_ don't cost as much to sortie."

Akagi pouted. "Not you too, sir! I wish everyone would stop making those overused food jokes about me!"

"Then stop eating so much," Kaga countered. "As the secretary ship, I get to see how much each sortie costs on an individual basis, so your reputation isn't undeserved."

"Okay, then," Akagi decided, "I'll show you all on this next mission that my sortie costs are worth it! I'll sink more Abyssals than the rest of you combined!"

"Oh? That's a bold statement," Souryuu chimed in with a smirk. "I've got to make up for last time too, so I'm not gonna lose to you, First Carrier Division!"

"How come you don't get mad at them for fighting…" Zuikaku mumbled as she walked beside Drake and Akagi and Souryuu continued their declarations.

"Uh, that's not 'fighting,' it's just a friendly rivalry," Drake shot back. "You take everything to the extremes, don't you, Zuikaku?"

She looked away. "You just don't understand, sir…"

Sighing a bit at Zuikaku's melancholy look, Drake glanced up at the sky. "So you really got offended by what Intrepid said to you?"

Zuikaku's sad frown turned into an angry one. "Tch. So what if I did? As I said, sir, you just don't understand… Look, I respect that you're the admiral, but when it comes to actual combat experience, you're like a baby in comparison to me. I've fought in desperate situations before, and I've watched many of my comrades and sailors die over and over again. Even when I was sunk and knew I had no chance of winning, I still had my pride… And that's why I just don't like it when other people make comments or jokes about that."

Drake didn't reply, partly because he was unsure how to. Zuikaku's words forced him to remember that though he was technically their commanding officer, all the ship girls were veterans who had fought and died for their country. The way they acted like normal young women made him forget that fact, but it was understandable that Zuikaku still harbored ill will towards the foes that sunk her.

Zuikaku glanced at Drake and then quickly looked away. "I… I didn't mean to sound rude. Sorry."

"Nah, don't worry about it," Drake dismissed. "You may be right that I won't ever fully understand you, but I can try my best, and I do think I know what you're feeling to some extent. For that reason, I'm not going to punish either one of you for fighting, but I won't be as forgiving if it happens again. At this point, what happened in your past doesn't mean shit. The Abyssals are the threat now, and it's our job to work with our allies in order to defeat them, regardless of our own personal feelings. Got it?"

"Yes, sir," Zuikaku responded, though she didn't really sound as if she had fully gotten past the issue.

Regardless, Drake would just have to leave it at that for now.


	28. My Promise IV

_A/N: Sorry for the slight delay, I've been a bit distracted by the World Cup, among other things. Hopefully the next few chapters come out more quickly. In other news, Shiratsuyu Kai Ni looks amazing... Those Shiratsuyu-class K2s really are the best._

* * *

Drake stepped into the large strategy room that doubled as a conference center in the Administrative Building. Already inside were many other admirals and some ship girls, most of them just milling about, waiting for the exercise to start. Accompanying Drake were Kaga and Shoukaku, the two ship girls who served as the flagships for his fleets. At a glance, Drake noticed a lot of familiar faces: Bismarck was there, along with her two vice admirals and another huge, burly, blond man Drake didn't recognize; Fleet Admiral Cassius and Umi were present, talking with each other while leaning over the large table in the center of the room; Genji and Miiro and their secretary ships were there; the little Admiral Hayama and the two Yamato-class battleships stood by stoically; and finally, Admiral Veronese and her Italian ship girl, Littorio, were also present. There were a few others, though Drake didn't know a lot of them by their faces alone.

In the center of the room was a big, long table, now covered by a large map of the South China Sea, particularly the area around Okinawa. There were also a bunch of pieces in the shape of different ship types on the board, probably for display purposes when discussing formations and strategies. Drake waited in the back of the room with his arms crossed, standing there with a bored expression as the minutes passed and the chatter finally died down. Eventually, Fleet Admiral Umi began speaking.

"Hello, everyone, and thank you for coming," she started in English. "As you all know, today we will be doing a war games exercise in order to simulate battle conditions for the upcoming operation. We will be using our actual fleet's size and and composition as well as the Abyssals' in this exercise, so our goal is to match the conditions as closely as possible to those that we will experience on the actual day of the battle. Now, if everyone is ready, I believe we should start. Any questions before we begin?"

The room was silent, so Umi nodded and continued. "Admiral Cassius, Admiral Helmholtz, and myself will be the commanders of Force Blue, which will represent our fleet. Admiral Hayama, I am putting you in command of Force Black, which are the Abyssals."

The young Japanese admiral looked surprised at being called upon. "... Me?"

"Yes? Is there a problem?"

Hayama sighed and rolled his eyes. "If I really have to be the enemy force commander, then so be it, I suppose. Let's just get this over with."

Much like the first time he saw Admiral Hayama, Drake was amazed that they made someone so young an admiral. He thought the USLN's promotion practices were shockingly fast, but Admiral Hayama and the IJN took that to a whole new level. Either way, Hayama had to be pretty gifted to get the position of admiral at such a young age, and just by the fluency with which he spoke English, it was clear that he was no stooge.

"Is it me by myself?" Hayama asked, raising an eyebrow as the huge man with the golden sideburns (who Drake now knew as Admiral Helmholtz) moved to join Umi and Cassius.

"Oh, right," Umi laughed, "you can choose three others to assist you, just don't pick them all from the same navy. I guess you've read the reports on everyone here already?"

Hayama shrugged. "More or less. Fine, then… I suppose I'll go with Rear Admiral Genji, Vice Admiral Bremerhaven, and Rear Admiral Drake."

Initially Drake felt proud at being chosen, but he then realized he would technically be under command of what appeared to be a young teen, so he wasn't sure how he felt about that bit. Regardless, he walked over to where Hayama stood across from the other three admirals. He was joined by Genji and Bremerhaven, the tall German with the platinum-blond hair.

"Ah, look at the scowls on that navy!" Umi laughed again as she regarded Hayama's team. "Say, Admiral Cassius, have you ever seen such a sour bunch?"

Cassius did not seem as amused. "Right… Well, I suppose it's good to be serious in wartime. Let's start the exercise."

Like everyone else attending the war games session, Drake had been given the data on the approximate size and capabilities of each fleet, though he did not think up any sort of strategy before he came here. He assumed that the opponent admirals had thought of at least a general strategy to face the Abyssals with, but since even Admiral Hayama had not been told about his role prior to the start of the session, he doubted anyone on his team had a plan.

"So… What is our strategy?" Genji asked, echoing Drake's thoughts.

Admiral Hayama held his chin in his hand, contemplating the situation. "Well… In terms of numbers, they have the upper hand, though if we only count ship girls and Abyssals and not humans or human ships, then we have numerical superiority. I'd say overall, we have a slight advantage here… For now, I'll be in charge of the battleships and general strategy. Genji, you have the submarines and destroyers, Drake, you get the carriers, and Bremerhaven, you command the cruisers."

Drake eyed the map. For the most part, the battlefield would just be open ocean, though the fight would be taking place very close to Okinawa in order to get land-based support. The Abyssals had also positioned themselves fairly close to Iejima, so that's where Drake's team would start their battle for this exercise. It had been decided that the INFCOM fleet would come up from the southern part of Okinawa, so the Abyssals would be positioned north of the human and ship girl fleet that would be sailing to meet them.

"Okay, we're moving up," Umi announced. "I suppose we'll just send scout planes ahead for now."

When she finished speaking, she picked up one of the markers and drew a line up from the bottom of Okinawa towards the Abyssal position in order to indicate the movement of the fleet.

Admiral Hayama turned in towards his three commanders, lowering his voice so that the other side couldn't hear. It was likely that neither side would be able to intercept enemy transmissions, so this was also meant to simulate real conditions.

"Obviously our main priority is to sink the ship girl fleet," Hayama laid out. "The human ships are completely useless without ship girl escorts, and even then the ship girls still do the most damage to us. If anyone else has any opinions, go ahead and say them. I suppose there's a reason why there's four of us here."

"We could sortie our bombers to Okinawa and destroy all land-based installations," Genji suggested.

"Do we know where those are?" Drake asked.

Hayama looked thoughtful. "I believe so… The Abyssals have done a number of scouting runs over Japanese bases in these past weeks, so I assume that was their goal. Even so, I don't want to waste our bombers by sending them over to bomb land bases. Maybe we could afford to do that if we were just sending them to Iejima, but since Iejima has been almost completely evacuated of all civilian and military personnel, there's no point."

"So are you all just going to leave your fleet sitting there?" Umi called out to the four young admirals with a grin.

"We're working on it," Hayama grumbled to her before turning back to the other three. "Let's move our aircraft first. Admiral Drake, do you have any ideas?"

"If we have air supremacy, then we win," he started slowly as he thought about it. "The question is how to position ourselves so that we can fight in favorable air conditions…"

Drake reviewed the map again. The ship girl and human fleet was composed of three different sections: the west flank held the carriers, the center the heavier ships, and the eastern side was mostly composed of light cruisers and submarines. The idea for the right, eastern flank was to have a sort of detached force that could be deployed anywhere on the battlefield at any time, which is why it was full of faster ships. The human carrier and battleship groups would be behind the ship girl fleet, commanding from the rear. The Abyssal fleet had a more traditional formation with the destroyers and light cruisers in front, the heavy ships in the middle, and the carriers in the back, but that was only a tentative formation and was liable to change on the day of the actual battle.

"Actually, let's not move our aircraft first," Hayama decided, then looked at Umi. "We're sending our battleships forward."

Hayama drew a line indicating this, much to the shock of everyone, including his own teammates.

"Wait, what?" Genji asked with a low, urgent voice. "That's suicidal, I hope you know that."

Hayama smirked. "Oh, is it? Well, I have a plan."

The little admiral then proceeded to explain his idea to his three commanders, all of whom still wore perplexed expressions even after he was finished.

"Is that allowed?" Bremerhaven asked with a frown.

Hayama shrugged. "I don't see why not. Our opponents might try to argue that, but realistically, there's no reason why this couldn't happen on the actual day of the battle."

"This plan could backfire if they send their own battleships at our fleet," Drake pointed out.

"I suppose. Even then, it wouldn't really _completely_ backfire," Hayma replied. "But I don't think they'll do that. They sent their scout planes ahead, so when they see an enemy battleship fleet out in the open, they're not going to risk the lives of their own battleships. Instead, they might as well just send their planes to bomb us since we have no fighter cover."

"I think we should send our planes on a flanking route," Drake then suggested. "Just so that it doesn't look like we're leaving our planes behind to do nothing. It doesn't make sense for us to send out a battleship fleet without air cover unless our planes are occupied doing something else."

Hayama nodded. "All right, I agree. Go ahead and do it."

Drake took hold of the marker and turned to opposing force. "Uh, we'll also send our planes here…"

He drew a flanking route around the two fleets, making it look as if he was sending their planes around to attack the ship girls' eastern flank.

"Okay, but your planes are going to take a while to get there because they're taking a flanking route," Umi said. "We'll just send our bombers and a small fighter escort ahead to destroy your battleships before you even reach our fleet, then."

Umi drew another line forward to indicate plane movement, but Hayama only smirked at this.

"Say goodbye to all your bombers, then. We've decided to place our Air Defense Princess and our Entombed Anti-Air Guardian Princess in the center of our battleship fleet."

"That's impossible," Helmholtz spoke, his accented voice booming throughout the room. "You can't just hide ships within a fleet like that."

Hayama's smirk only grew. "Oh? But satellites can't detect specific Abyssals within a fleet and can only see the general composition. You really think we'll be able to see one or two Abyssals out of an entire pack of enemy ships?"

The three admirals on the ship girl side were silent, though they wore uncomfortable looks.

"I hate to say it, but he's right," Umi grimaced. "So, how many planes did we lose?"

"Judging by the effectiveness of these two Princesses at Bethlehem and extrapolating from other Princess performances, you just lost probably eighty or ninety percent of your planes," Hayama said. "Possibly more, who knows. The element of surprise was on our side."

"That sounds a bit high," Cassius said. "Either way, we did suffer a huge loss in airpower…"

"I'm calling off my airstrike now and sending it towards your center force," Drake added.

"Then we'll sortie our remaining fighters to intercept, as well as call back our surviving planes," Umi countered.

"Your survivors won't make it back in time," Hayama told her. "Also, your fighters are seriously outnumbered by ours considering you lost some in your initial strike. You're not going to win this air battle."

"Fine, then. We'll place our Akizuki-class with our battleships," Umi said.

Hayama frowned. "You can't do -"

"It works both ways, doesn't it?" Umi cut him off. "If we can't see specific ships in your fleet, then you can't see specific ones in ours."

"But you're reacting to our moves and only placed your ships there after we already acted. We had our ships in place at the very start of the battle," Hayama pointed out. "There's a huge difference."

"Okay, but what's to say we didn't have the Akizukis there to begin with?"

"Because you -" Hayama just decided to stop there since he doubted he would convince them. "Fine, I don't care. It's not going to save you, though, because we're sending in the battleship force you failed to destroy, and since they were already moving forward at the start of the battle, they're going to reach your fleet very quickly."

"I'll send our submarines forward to challenge enemy subs that try to attack our heavy force," Genji told Hayama.

Hayama nodded. "Yes, our submarine force is much bigger than theirs anyway. There's also the fact that we have a second submarine princess based on sonar readings at Bethlehem, so we're definitely not losing that fight."

 _Man, these Princesses are really coming in handy,_ Drake thought as he watched the exchange. Though that was well and good for them in this exercise, in the actual battle, this was not something to celebrate.

"Our light cruiser force is specifically equipped to counter submarines," Cassius inputted. "We'll just send them to counter."

"Then we'll redeploy our battleships towards the light cruiser force," Hayama said. "Our air attack will take care of your heavy fleet, but we'll also leave the heavy cruisers behind."

"We should send the light cruisers down to flank the enemy light cruisers as well," Bremerhaven added.

"Yes," Hayama agreed. "So… Let's look at the map right now. Your carriers are sitting by doing nothing because they have no planes, your battleships are under air attack and heavy cruiser attack, your light cruisers are being pincered by our battleships and light cruisers, and your submarines are being hunted and sunk underwater by our own. Does that sound about right?"

The three senior admirals looked uncomfortable.

"Don't forget that our Akizuki-class can take down a lot of your planes," Cassius said.

"Not enough to make any sort of difference, sir," Drake rebutted, trying not to offend his superior. "The Abyssals have three carrier Princess, along with the Airfield Princess. We have a huge air advantage over you to begin with, and this was only increased when our anti-air Princesses took out almost all of your planes."

"What about our land-based air and carrier groups?" Helmholtz brought up.

"They're not going to make much of a difference at this point, are they?" Umi said, looking up at Hayama.

Admiral Hayama wore a sympathetic smile. "Sorry, no. They might take out some of our planes, but they're all going to die in the end and we'll still have overwhelming air superiority."

Umi shrugged sheepishly. "Eh, it's just an exercise. We might as well send them in."

"All right, so what are our losses from that bombing run?" Cassius asked.

"At least two-thirds of your battleships and heavy cruisers are gone, and that is probably a low estimate," Hayama answered. "You're free to disagree, of course, but…"

Umi, Cassius, and Helmholtz shared a look before Umi shook her head.

"That's probably a realistic guess. I presume we won't get to decide which battleships we keep?"

"You wouldn't in a real battle, so no," Hayama said. "That's left up to us because we're doing the targeting."

Drake nodded in agreement. "Best to prioritize sinking the Yamato-class so that no one gets in the Battleship Princess' way when she cuts through the rest of the fleet. Oh, and might as well kill Iowa while we're at it."

Those two sentences left a bad taste in Drake's mouth, and he didn't miss the look of betrayal Iowa sent him from her position in the back of the room, but hey, he was the Abyssal Admiral right now.

"All right," Hayama assented. "So aside from those three, you can have your pick of keeping a few battleships of your choosing, Fleet Admiral. Not that it will help you."

"What about your remaining airpower?" Umi asked Hayama. "Surely your planes took at least some damage from that."

"Right… Well, perhaps we can settle on fifty percent of our planes going down?" Hayama suggested. "Personally I think even that is a bit high, but it is certain that your side has now lost every single plane, be it ship girl or human, so it doesn't matter anyway. We'll have to return to our home carriers to rearm, but we have achieved complete air supremacy for the remainder of this battle."

"Then what are we supposed to do now?" Fleet Admiral Cassius spoke with confusion in his tone. "Our carriers have no planes and our battleships are gone. Doesn't look very favorable for us."

"Mount a final charge with our remaining battleships," Helmholtz said. "Their battleships are currently engaged with our light cruiser force, so we can flank them."

"Then we'll just order our submarines and destroyers to hunt down and torpedo your battleships before they get there," Genji said.

"The light cruiser ship girls should also be close to defeat at this point," Bremerhaven added in his quiet but strong voice. "They have been under assault from our battleships and light cruisers throughout the airstrike, so I don't think they can survive much longer."

"And our airstrike will be heading back out for a final bombing as soon as possible," Drake piled on.

Hayama sighed as he crossed his arms. "This battle looks like it's over. All that is left to do is wipe out your remaining ship girls and then kill the humans. Our side won't sustain many more losses from this point on."

Silence fell over the room for what felt like an eternity. Drake almost felt bad for being on the side of the winners considering that they represented the Abyssals, and he could tell the rest of the room was not happy about the results either. He had no doubt that the admirals across the table from him were busy thinking about what they could say to make it look like the Abyssals didn't just grind the ship girl fleet into dust.

"Something seems off here…" Umi said while rubbing her face. "So we didn't even sink any Princesses?"

Hayama shrugged again. "Who knows. Perhaps you did. Even so, it doesn't matter because the majority of our Princesses are still alive, and even if you did manage to sink a couple, it was already after they had done their job, no? Sinking a Princess here and there isn't going to prevent defeat, unless it's done at a crucial moment. For example if you had sunk our air defense Princesses at the beginning…"

"It all leads back to that, doesn't it?" Cassius observed with a frown. "We lost almost all our airpower the moment we fell for your trap."

"Looking back, it was obvious," Helmholtz agreed. "Why would they send out a battleship detachment with no air cover unless they were trying to trap us? We fell for it because we thought they could not touch our planes, and because they sent their own planes on a flanking route as a distraction."

"Hm…" Umi smiled. "So, I suppose this means that in the real battle, we'd better not send our planes somewhere we haven't scouted…"

"It won't be possible to scout every part of the enemy fleet, though," Hayama said. "If we wait to see exactly how the enemy fleet is composed, then we'll be reduced to fighting a purely defensive battle, and we'll just be reacting to what the enemy does. In a carrier battle, the one who strikes first always wins."

Silence fell over the room again.

"Then… Maybe we should just strike first after all," Umi decided. "If possible, we should send our airstrike to attack their carriers before their planes are fully in the air. That way we avoid something like this happening, at the very least."

"I suppose that is best," Hayama accorded. "If we can find their carrier fleet, then we should strike at it before they find ours. After that, our battleships and other forces will be able to operate more freely. Even if we don't destroy the enemy's air force, as long as we have a lot of our own planes in the air, the enemy cannot harass our surface forces."

The war game exercise ended with that, which at least gave everyone in the room a feeling as if they had made some progress. Even so, the defeat of the ship girl force by the Abyssals had been a blow to morale, and was probably not what the admirals had in mind when they started the exercise. Despite that, a good defeat provided as good a teaching tool as any, so they were now aware about mistakes they absolutely had to avoid.

As Drake walked out of the conference room with his two flagships, he however felt a sense of unease. Just by being in command of the Abyssal carriers, he had realized how overwhelming their air advantage really was. He would need some sort of trick up his sleeve in the upcoming battle if he was going to defeat an Abyssal air force which contained multiple carrier-type Princesses, considering how much trouble that one Airfield Princess gave him.

Unfortunately, Drake was so caught up in his thoughts that he slammed straight into something hard as he walked, causing him to recoil and jump back in surprise and slight pain. The hard object he had run into turned out to the back of Germany's Admiral Helmholtz, who turned around with a frown.

"You… You are the admiral who commands Bismarck at this base, are you not?" the German asked in his heavy voice.

"Uh, y-yes," Drake replied, still a bit stunned from running into him.

Helmholtz didn't say anything more, and simply wore a stern frown as he pushed past Drake and headed in the opposite direction.

"Ugh… Thanks for warning me, you two," Drake sarcastically spat at the carriers.

"Apologies," Kaga offered tonelessly.

Shoukaku smiled sheepishly. "It seems all of us were caught up still thinking about the exercise…"

"Right… So what did you think of it?"

"Um, well, I would congratulate you on your victory, sir, but since you were commanding the Abyssals, it doesn't seem appropriate," Shoukaku said with another half-hearted smile. "The enemy air power does seem very fearsome, though…"

"I agree," Kaga said. "Before this exercise, I wasn't fully aware of just how devastating it could be to lose our own air strike capability."

"Yeah, I was thinking the same thing," Drake nodded. "I guess that just puts more pressure on us…"

"Hey!"

The trio turned around to see the ever-boisterous Iowa stomping towards them. The American battleship pointed a finger at Drake.

"Captain! Why'd you sink me specifically in the exercise! I thought we had something special!"

"Hey, it's nothing personal," Drake smirked. "Take it as a compliment. You and the Yamato-class were the ones who I thought could actually stand a chance at defeating the Battleship Princess, which is why I sunk you three first."

Iowa blinked in surprise, evidently not having thought of that. "Oh… True! Thanks, then!"

"You're thanking him for sinking you…?" Kaga asked with a raised eyebrow.

"W-well, I didn't mean it _that_ way!" Iowa denied. "You know what I meant, right, Captain?"

"Sure," Drake said, grinning slightly at Iowa's antics.

Iowa wasn't convinced, and she pouted. "Then why are you laughing at me… Hey, as an apology for sinking me, let's go to Mamiya's! I hear it's a world-famous restaurant!"

"World famous? Not sure about that, but if you want to go, then okay, I guess."

"Nice! This is why you're my favorite admiral!" Iowa cheered as she slapped Drake on the back.

"Yeah, I'd be amazed if any other superior officer tolerated this," Drake said, wincing a bit from Iowa's battleship strength.

"I know, right? Fleet Admiral Cassius even told me to act more 'professional.' Can you believe that?" Iowa grinned.

 _I sure as hell can,_ the rear admiral thought.

"But anyway, I guess it's 'cause you're around our age," Iowa continued. "I never had a commander as young as you before."

"I'm not around your age, though. You're older than my grandma, actually," Drake pointed out.

"Very funny, sir. You know what I mean," she replied while giving him a flat look. "For some reason we ship girls were reborn in bodies of young women, so that's how it is. Can't say I mind it, though!"

 _Can't say I do either,_ Drake thought with a small smile.

* * *

"Shigure?"

The destroyer snapped her blue eyes open as her name was called. She was sitting on the edge of one of the piers, her legs dangling above the water as she let the sea breeze sweep across her face. Turning to see who called out to her, Shigure spotted her sister, Murasame, now also a member of her fleet.

"What are you doing sitting out here?" Murasame asked, walking over to her older sister.

"Nothing in particular," Shigure answered.

Murasame sat down next to her. "Nothing, huh? I called your name like three times before you responded."

"Ah… That's…" Shigure sighed. "All right. I was thinking about something."

Murasame frowned at her. "That's not very descriptive, but I think I can pretty much guess it."

Shigure remained silent, only looking down at the water as she absently played with the end of her braid.

"... You know she'll probably be there, right?" Murasame said, her gaze pointed towards the sky. "Well, I guess you knew that, which is why you're sitting out here."

"Yes… It's just that… What are we supposed to do?" Shigure asked in a small voice. "I mean… After participating in the Admiral's training with the rest of the fleet, I think we're definitely stronger than we were back then, but strong enough to beat her? Do you remember how easily she destroyed us? I… I just don't know…"

Murasame pulled up her knee and rested her chin on it. "Yeah, we're not strong enough. That's for sure. But at least this time we have a lot more allies with us, right?"

Shigure remained unconvinced. "But even back then nobody made it out alive and we barely managed to even damage the enemy fleet. Their strength is just so much more than ours."

"Maybe, but we're still being sent to fight. That must mean that the admirals have a plan to win. It's not like they don't understand the gap in power between a Princess and a ship girl."

"Do they really have a winning plan, or are they just sending us out because they have to?" Shigure turned to look at her sister. "I was around until the end of the War, and back then, our admirals were still desperately sending us on sorties even though we had no chance of winning. In the end, that cost countless lives, but they felt they had to do it because it was better than doing nothing. What if that's what's happening here?"

"Geez, that's a dark viewpoint," Murasame said with a bitter grin. "It honestly doesn't seem that way to me. Tell me, do the admirals and ship girls right now seem as desperate as they did back then? I sunk before you did, but even when I was still floating, I could almost feel the air of defeat. I can't say I feel that way right now; everyone still thinks we can win this."

Shigure had to admit that her sister had a point. "Yeah, you're right… Though maybe it's only that we've already lost but just don't know it yet."

Murasame laughed. "I can always count on you for your optimism, Shigure."

"Sorry," Shigure apologized with an embarrassed blush. "But I guess I shouldn't be talking this way until we know for sure… Yeah, this is a new life and a new chance at victory. It doesn't have to be like last time."

Though even as Shigure said this, her mind flashed back to her fight with the Destroyer Princess. Back then, it _had_ been exactly as it was before. Once again, she had been unable to help her comrades and was forced to watch as they were slaughtered. Could she truly claim that things had changed?

Murasame noticed Shigure's silence and put a hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry. Things will be different this time."

"Yeah…"

 _Will they really?_

* * *

Amatsukaze felt a tap on her shoulder, and she turned and was greeted with the grinning face of her old friend, Shimakaze.

"Oh, there you are. Been too busy to see me until now?" Amatsukaze said with a smirk.

"Sorry, there's just so much to do on this base!" Shimakaze exclaimed.

"Really? I always thought this base was pretty boring," Amatsukaze replied. _Then again, Shimakaze is the type of person who would get excited over little things like visiting a new naval base._

"Are you kidding me!" Shimakaze shouted. "Have you ever even been to Mamiya's?! Our base doesn't have anything even close to that!"

"Yeah, it is pretty good. Guess I just got used to it after a while," Amatsukaze said, backing up a bit from Shimakaze who was now in her face. "So, uh, how have you been? It's been years since we last saw each other."

"I know, right? But I've been good! I've been training and I'm even faster now! C'mon, let's race!" Shimakaze demanded, shaking Amatsukaze by her shoulders.

"Some other time, maybe. I just had lunch," Amatsukaze shot down, prying Shimakaze's hands off her shoulders.

"Excuses," Shimakaze said disapprovingly as she pouted. "But hey, I heard you sunk an Abyssal Princess! You must be faster now too, right?"

"Heh, I guess," Amatsukaze answered with a bit of a cocky grin. "I'm not the same ship you beat all those previous times. Don't think I'll lose to you again!"

"All right! That's what I like to hear!" Shimakaze beamed. "How about we race each other in the next sortie? Whoever sinks a Princess faster wins!"

"Um, I doubt either one of us is going to be able to sink a Princess on our own. Have you ever even fought one?"

Shimakaze blinked. "No… But they can't be _that_ strong, right?"

Amatsukaze recalled how much trouble the Submarine Princess had given them even in shallow waters. "I think you'd be surprised."

"Oh… Well, that sucks," Shimakaze said, momentarily deflated. She quickly perked back up. "They can't match our speed, though!"

Amatsukaze shrugged. "I heard the Destroyer Princess is pretty fast. Best not to get overconfident."

Shimakaze pouted again. "Look at you, trying to act all mature. I still remember how you complained and whined whenever I beat you in a race!"

"I did not!"

"Yes you did!"

"No!"

"Yes!"

"The hell are you two arguing about?"

The two destroyers stopped their back and forth to see Musashi staring at them with a deep frown. This was one of the few times that Amatsukaze had seen the super battleship up close, and she had to admit that Musashi had quite the intimidating aura.

"We're not _arguing_ ," Shimakaze denied. "And mind your own business, please."

"Huh? Where do you get off talking to your superiors like that, you brat?" Musashi shot back.

Much to Amatsukaze's displeasure, Shimakaze then hid behind her and stuck out her tongue at Musashi. Amatsukaze froze in fright, but Musashi only rolled her eyes.

"I guess I shouldn't be surprised at how many arguments you get into considering how annoying you are," Musashi said to Shimakaze. The battleship then turned to Amatsukaze. "You're Amatsukaze, right?"

"Um, y-yes!" Amatsukaze hurriedly answered.

Musashi smirked. "Oh? You don't seem like a Princess killer to me. I suppose looks can be deceiving, though."

Amatsukaze wasn't sure how to respond to that, so she stayed silent.

"By the way, you're under that American's command, right?" Musashi then asked. "You're all right with that? Being ordered around by an American?"

"Um… Yes?" Amatsukaze replied. "They're not our enemies anymore, so…"

"Yeah, yeah, I get it," Musashi waved her off. "That's not the point, though. It's a matter of pride… But never mind. Forget I said anything."

The battleship walked off after that, leaving Amatsukaze and Shimakaze alone again.

"Yeah, you better run," Shimakaze said to Musashi's back, but she made sure not to say it loud enough so that the Yamato-class could actually hear it.

 _A matter of pride…?_ Amatsukaze repeated Musashi's words in her head. _Am I really stomping on my pride by letting an American give me orders?_

"Oh, shit! I just remembered that I forgot to check out the store on the base!" Shimakaze recalled with a start as she began running off. "See ya around, Amatsukaze! And be ready to race next time!"

Amatsukaze gave her friend a half-hearted wave, but she was still thinking about what Musashi said. _That can't be true. If the USA isn't our enemy anymore, then what's wrong with working with them?_

But something in the back of her mind told her that Musashi had a point. The Americans did sink her and most of her comrades, and even though times have changed since World War II, Amatsukaze herself was still the same warship who fought in that conflict. The country that once issued orders to kill so many of her countrymen was now commanding her… Now that she thought about it, it did feel wrong.

Amatsukaze stared at Shimakaze's back as the blonde destroyer sprinted off. She then recalled the conversation she had with her admiral about Shimakaze back when the fleet was preparing to defend Los Angeles.

 _That day… The Admiral encouraged me when I felt like I couldn't match up to her. If he didn't talk to me back then, would I have been able to do what I did against the Submarine Princess?_

Amatsukaze remembered how she used Shimakaze as inspiration to defeat the Submarine Princess. However, she was only able to use Shimakaze as inspiration in the first place _because_ she believed that she could match Shimakaze in speed… And that belief was helped along by the Admiral back then.

Smiling, the silver-haired destroyer turned to face the sea.

 _Yeah… I'm proud of the ship girl I am today. Everything that's happened that made me who I am… Fighting against the Americans, and now fighting with the Americans… I'm proud of it all._


	29. My Promise V

Drake leaned back in his chair and put his feet up on the table as he watched the television in the situation room of the USS _Raw Screams of Liberty_. This was the only American carrier that would be present for the Battle of Okinawa, and it was one of the four new _Liberty_ -class vessels. Drake had been aboard _Glorious Tears of Liberty_ at Los Angeles, but other than that, this was only his second time aboard a carrier. In command of the vessel was Admiral Belle, Drake's old instructor. The carrier task force as a whole was under the command of Admiral Helmholtz of Germany and his flagship _Brunhild_ , which was the largest and most powerful carrier in existence.

Also present in the situation room with Drake was his fleet, though the ship girls in his fleet now consisted of the standard carriers and not his normal warships.

"It appears things aren't going well over there," Kaga noted as she watched TV along with Drake.

"Yeah…"

Depicted on the television screen were images and footage of Okinawa, and as Kaga said, it was chaos. Riots and protests had broken out after the Japanese government ordered a mandatory evacuation of the island, and though Japanese officials were still trying to force people onto planes in order to get them to the mainland, there were plenty who didn't want to leave their homes. Many complained that the government was being too hasty and too cautious, and even some of those who did take the Abyssal threat seriously were instead angry at the government for allowing the Abyssals to get this close. Instead of leaving like they were ordered too, these annoyed citizens stayed behind as a protest, but some of those who refused to leave decided not to do things peacefully instead turned to looting empty stores and buildings. Therefore, Imperial Army personnel were sent to quell these dissenters, which in turn only made them angrier. All in all, it was not a good situation on the ground. The only thing that could calm things down was if the International Fleet managed to drive the Abyssals off from Okinawa.

" _In addition to the unrest on Okinawa, international financial markets have also experienced instability,"_ the Japanese newscaster on screen continued. " _The Nikkei has been hit the hardest, but indexes such as the Dow Jones and Footsie have also suffered. Experts believe that…"_

"Heh, looks like they don't have much confidence in us," Drake joked.

"Indeed. I am not quite sure what those 'indexes' refer to, though," Kaga admitted.

"Eh, not really that important," Drake just said. "If we lose this battle, the stock market will be the least of our worries."

" _Rear Admiral Drake, please report to the bridge,"_ a voice over the PA system then called out.

Drake sighed to himself as he got up and made his way up towards the bridge. As usual, he preferred to stay in the situation room rather than the bridge, but that meant that he had to walk all the way up there every time he was needed by command.

When he arrived at the bridge, he found Admiral Belle waiting for him. He saluted, and she returned it in her usual professional manner.

"Rear Admiral. There's been a development," she started. "Two Wo-class carriers have been spotted dangerously close to our fleet."

Drake was surprised to hear that. "What are they doing so far out from the main Abyssal fleet?"

"That's what we want to know. Command has instructed us to send out a scouting ship girl force to see what they are up to, and destroy them if need be. Since you're commanding the carriers, I'll leave that to you. I've marked the coordinates of where the Wo-class carriers were last seen on the map, and you should be able to detect them through radar once you get close enough. Sortie as soon as possible."

"Yes, ma'am," Drake replied with a salute, then headed back down to get his fleet ready.

The rear admiral returned to the situation room and told Kaga about the Wo-class carriers.

"They only sent two carriers?" Kaga asked for confirmation.

Drake nodded. "Yeah. Maybe they're planning to do some recon with their planes? Either way, we're supposed to chase them off. I don't want to sortie our entire force in case this is some sort of trap, so I was thinking of sending three carriers. That should be enough to achieve air supremacy over two regular Wo-classes, and if it escalates beyond that, then I was just planning on retreating anyway."

"That sounds fine," Kaga agreed. "Who are we sending?"

Drake scanned the room for a second. Most of the carriers were busy talking to each other, with each group segregating themselves based on nationality. The order to deploy out to the East China Sea came almost immediately after Drake had formed the carrier fleet, so they did not have any time to train together. This meant that the fleet members were not nearly as used to each other as they should be, but there was nothing Drake could do about that.

"I want you to lead the sortie," he told Kaga. "And I am also sending Zuikaku and Intrepid with you."

Kaga frowned. "Are you sure that's wise, sir?"

"Those two still seem to hate each other, but they need to learn to at least tolerate one another if they're going to fight together," Drake said. "And since this sortie isn't really an actual battle, it's the best opportunity for that."

Kaga stood up. "As you command. I will go get the fleet ready, then."

As Kaga went to inform Zuikaku and Intrepid of their orders, Drake stood up and decided to pay a visit to the rest of his fleet, namely his escorts. Thankfully, the escorting ships were the same destroyers and light cruisers that he normally had in his fleet, so he had familiar faces to work with. The escorting ships were currently in the docking room setting up their equipment, so Drake headed down the ship's passageways until he reached the large open space where ship girl equipment was stored and where the girls could be deployed from in a matter of seconds if need be.

When Drake arrived, a ship girl clad in white and gray who was sitting on one of the couches present in the waiting area immediately stood up and saluted.

"Sir," she greeted formally.

"At ease," Drake returned her salute. "Uh… Suzutsuki, right?"

"Yes, sir."

Suzutsuki, and Akizuki-class air defense destroyer, was assigned to his fleet specifically for this operation, though she normally operated out of Sasebo. Given that Drake's fleet was full of carriers, it was decided that one of the air defense destroyers be put under his command in order to help shoot down any enemy planes that aimed to attack the carrier forces, so here she was.

The rest of the fleet soon noticed his presence as well, so they began walking over, wondering if he had new orders for them.

"Is something the matter, sir?" Amatsukaze asked. Drake had designated her as the escort fleet's flagship since she did so well in the last sortie.

"Not really, I just came down to see if everything was going all right," he said. "But some of the carriers are going out to investigate a couple Wo-classes that have wandered into our fleet's territory. We don't really need escorts for that, so none of you need to worry about it."

"Why would enemy carriers wander right into our massive fleet?" Sendai asked, tilting her head in confusion.

Drake shrugged. "Scouting, maybe? Who knows. Either way, we're just going to chase them out or sink them if they refuse to leave."

"It could be a trap, sir," Yahagi pointed out.

"Yeah, which is why we're not going to chase them out too far," Drake told her. "But like I said, it's nothing you all need to worry about. Is the equipment almost done?"

Amatsukaze nodded. "We should have it all set up in a few more minutes."

"All right. Usually the ship's crew does it, but I guess since we're so close to the Abyssal fleet, Admiral Belle has increased the number of people on watch duty," Drake said. "Anyway, you can get back to work. I'll be heading back up soon anyway."

Most of the escort fleet dispersed after that and went back to their duties, but one of them lingered behind. Drake was about to leave as well, but he stopped mid-step when he noticed that Shigure was still standing there, an unsure look on her face.

"Did you need something?" he asked.

"U-um, I…" She appeared hesitant to share her thoughts, instead choosing to look down at the ground. "I, um, it's nothing…"

Drake gave her a look. "You sure about that?"

Shigure was about to indeed tell him that it was nothing again, but then she remembered their conversation back at the hospital. Drake had told her that she could talk to him about any issues that she was having, so she stowed away her fears and decided to voice her thoughts.

"I… I was wondering if… We can actually win this battle."

The American admiral paused. That certainly wasn't the sort of attitude that people were supposed to exhibit before an important operation, but it was understandable nevertheless.

"I, uh, I'm sorry!" Shigure quickly said once Drake didn't reply immediately. "I, I didn't mean to sound like I didn't believe in our forces! I just -"

"It's all right," Drake interrupted. "This _is_ going to be the biggest battle of the war so far, so I can't really blame you for asking. But to answer your question… I think we can. The fleet that's been assembled here has the best officers and sailors in the world. Although we haven't come up with a set battle plan yet, the High Admirals are working on it right now, and I'm sure it will be fine."

"Oh… I see."

"You don't sound convinced," Drake smirked.

"Oh, I…" Shigure wore a sad frown as she looked away. In spite of talking with Murasame a few days ago, she didn't really feel any better. "It's just that… The last war I fought in, things didn't end up going very well. And even in this war, I almost sunk in my very first battle…"

"Yeah, you've had a lot of failures in the past, haven't you?" Drake said, his expression firm. "Make sure you don't forget them. Don't forget how you were helpless, and how they made you suffer. Don't forget the pain and the blood you shed… Don't forget any of that, because you need to learn from it. If you can keep all that in your mind during the battle, you won't make the same mistakes. The whole point of failing is so you can succeed next time. Me and you both… Yeah, we've had a lot of failures. But I can promise you that as your commander, I won't fail again. As for you yourself… Well, that's up to you, isn't it?"

Shigure remained silent. Oh, she could remember her past failures. No matter how hard she tried, there was no way she could forget them, even though her sisters had tried to reassure her. However, was it true that she could learn from them? Was it really as easy as her admiral made it sound?

"A fleet is still made up of individuals," Drake continued. "I can do my part, but you have to do yours too. So if you're asking if we can really win… You need to ask yourself that first. Can you learn from your past experience?"

Shigure didn't know if that was a rhetorical question, but she answered anyway, almost unintentionally. "I don't know… I don't know! When I fought the Destroyer Princess, I knew in my mind that I didn't want it to end up like Surigao. But even then, I still couldn't do anything… I was determined to win, but I still… I still…"

"Yeah, I've read the combat report," Drake stated. "You were by yourself back then and up against an Abyssal Princess. What did you expect would happen? You can't achieve the impossible. But do you remember when we fought the Submarine Princess? We won that fight, and you were one of the last ship girls left floating at the end of the battle. That battle proved that you _are_ strong. Don't look to situations where success is nearly impossible in order to convince yourself otherwise. If you always remain stuck in the low points of your past, you'll never be able to claw your way back out of those holes."

The blue-eyed destroyer thought over her admiral's words. Was it really true that she was being overly-negative? That was the same thing Murasame had said to her… But she had to admit that the Admiral did have a point. She was one of the final two ship girls left against the Submarine Princess, and she had contributed to the success of the battle. By herself, she always ended up running away or dying… But with this new fleet? Perhaps there could be a new beginning for her.

"Admiral… I understand," she finally said, smiling at him. "I won't run away by myself this time, and I won't try and fight by myself either. Together, with this fleet… I think we can win as well."

Drake grinned at that and patted her on the head. "Yeah. Let's send those Abyssals back to the bottom where they belong."

* * *

Kaga squinted off at the distance as she sailed along the rich, blue waters of the South China Sea. _Surely the Abyssal carriers have noticed our presence by now? But I don't see them moving on our radar…_

She took a moment to glance back at her two comrades, Zuikaku and Intrepid. Both ship girls were sailing behind her, as far as part from each other as they could be without breaking formation. As expected, they wore looks of annoyance on their faces at having to sortie with each other.

Kaga abruptly stopped, causing the other carriers to stop as well and look at her.

"I'm going to send out a few planes to warn them off," Kaga told them, slinging her bow off her back.

Aiming her arrow at the sky, Kaga fired and watched as the projectile split off into three fighters. The planes zoomed off into the distance and flew towards the enemy carriers.

"You think they'll really retreat once they see the planes?" Zuikaku asked.

Kaga lifted a hand to her forehead in order to shield her eyes from the sunlight as she watched her planes depart. "Probably not, considering that they should be able to sense us and the planes on the radar already. It doesn't hurt to try, however."

"So then what? We bomb them if they don't run?" Zuikaku wondered.

"I suppose so, unless either of you two have any better ideas."

"Nah, let's do it!" Zuikaku said with an enthusiastic grin.

Intrepid rolled her eyes at that, but unfortunately for her, Zuikaku turned around just in time to catch her.

"What? You got some sort of problem?" the Japanese carrier demanded.

"I didn't even say anything," Intrepid spat back.

"Y-yeah, but you rolled your eyes at me!"

Intrepid smirked. "Oh? Is that enough to irritate you? What a baby."

"You two. Quiet," Kaga ordered. "We are on a mission right now, in case you have forgotten."

Zuikaku smiled smugly at Intrepid after that despite the fact that Kaga had told them both to shut up. Naturally, this only infuriated Intrepid even more.

"Tch. You two Japs sticking up for each other now, huh?" Intrepid said, distaste evident in her tone. "Don't know what the Admiral was thinking by sending me with you two. Maybe he's spent too much time in Japan after all."

"Oh, fuck off. No one wants to hear your whining," Zuikaku shot back.

Kaga, who was now focused on the live feed from her planes, was still aware of the argument going on behind her. She sighed to herself. _I agreed with the Admiral's idea to take these two along… But perhaps this will only make things worse._

The Wo-classes soon came into view of the planes, and Kaga tensed up, wondering what the enemy carriers would do next. Kaga had her planes circle overhead the Abyssals, not wanting to fire upon them because it would be easier for everyone if the Wo-classes just left without a fight. Gunfire from fighters probably wouldn't do too much damage to the Wo-classes anyway, so Kaga continued to just watch the enemy as they stared curiously at her planes.

 _They don't appear to be preparing to leave… But why haven't they shot down my planes, then?_

Sure enough, as soon as Kaga finished that thought, the two Wo-classes released a total of six sleek black Abyssal fighters from the huge mouths on their headgear. Kaga willed her planes to open fire, but since she was outnumbered, all her planes were easily destroyed after only shooting down one Abyssal fighter.

Kaga whirled around to the still-arguing Zuikaku and Intrepid. "You two, shut up already! The Abyssals have destroyed my fighters. Prepare for battle."

Intrepid and Zuikaku shot each other one last glare before pulling out their respective weapons.

Kaga held a hand up to her earpiece. "Admiral, the enemy has destroyed my scouts and has launched fighters of their own. We are now engaging."

" _Roger that,"_ Drake replied over comms. " _You're cleared to sink them. Just don't chase them beyond our fleet's area of operation."_

"Understood." Kaga then turned back to her fleetmates. "Send out a squad of fighters and bombers, but don't use too many planes right now."

The three carriers aimed their weapons at the sky and fired, filling the air with the faint buzzing of planes. After a few seconds of maneuvering, they managed to get more or less into formation and began flying towards the Abyssals.

"Should we sail towards the enemy too?" Zuikaku asked.

Kaga shook her head. "Our objective is to chase them out, so if we can accomplish that without putting our own bodies in danger, then that will be best. Besides, the closer we are to our fleet, the faster assistance can reach us on the small chance that we need it."

One advantage that a ship girl carrier had over a regular carrier was that she could engage in close combat, so Zuikaku's suggestion wasn't a bad one, but against only two enemy carriers, it probably wasn't necessary. Kaga knew that they could decide this battle from long range alone, especially since they had the numbers advantage in terms of planes.

After a minute or two, the enemy air force came into view. It wasn't visible to the carriers themselves, but they could see it clearly through the live feed of their planes, and they noticed that the enemy had actually sent more planes than they themselves did. As the air battle began to unfold, Kaga prepared to fire another shot.

"We may need a second shot," Kaga told them as she notched her bow with an arrow.

"Hold on," Intrepid said. "It actually looks like we're winning this battle…"

When Kaga shifted her attention back to her planes' feed, she saw that Intrepid was correct. The Abyssal air force had focused their attacks on the ship girls' bombers, destroying them all, but that meant that the ship girl fighter planes had free reign of the sky, resulting in the downing of every Abyssal plane.

"All our fighters are still intact," Zuikaku observed. "I guess we should just send more bombers up, then?"

Kaga nodded. "We'll have the fighters keep going and thin out any Abyssal planes that are defending the Wo-classes. By the time our new bombers catch up, the Abyssals won't have much air defense left."

The three carriers proceeded with that plan and launched more bombers into the sky, and by then their previous fighters had reached the area where the Wo-classes were.

"H-hey, they're running!" Zuikaku observed as she watched her feed. "They're not even bothering to attack our fighters; they're just running away!"

"Our bombers won't reach there in time, then…" Kaga knew her admiral had told her not to follow the Wo-classes if they left the area, but it would probably be a good idea to at least trail them with their fighters. "Fine, then. Let's just continue to follow them with our fighters."

The trio watched their feeds intently as the Wo-class carriers sailed away at full speed. The Zero and F6F fighter planes from the ship girls were still following closely behind.

" _On my radar it's saying the Wo-classes have left the area,"_ Admiral Drake said to the group after a few minutes. " _Did you complete the mission?"_

"Yes, but we are now following them with some of our fighters," Kaga responded. "Perhaps they will reveal the exact position of the Abyssal fleet if we continue to trail them."

" _All right, sounds good."_

The carriers watched in silence for a while before two large structures came into view. Kaga's eyes widened a bit as her planes recorded the Wo-classes sailing towards what appeared to be two very large, rocky platforms that jutted out of the water. The Abyssals seemed to be making their way towards the stretch of water in between the platforms, and Kaga guessed that the area in between the platforms was where a part of the Abyssal fleet was stationed. However, before she could follow the Wo-classes in, a large air group of Abyssal fighters suddenly emerged from the in between the platforms, zooming towards the ship girl fighters at full speed. The ensuing air battle was fairly short as the ship girl planes were completely wiped out, but they had gotten the information they needed.

"... The hell was that?" Zuikaku asked after their planes had been destroyed.

"It looks like the Abyssals have constructed more artificial islands," Kaga said, thinking. "It also appears that a portion of their fleet is ensconced in between those two islands because the Wo-classes headed straight towards there… Anyway, our mission is complete. We should return and report these findings to the Admiral."

* * *

"I see…"

Kaga had just finished giving her report to Drake, and the two of them were currently down below in the ship girl launching area, where the escorting ships were also still hanging out. This area of the ship was pretty much standardized across all large INFCOM vessels, and it also served as a sort of longue for the ship girls before they sortied. Drake sat on one of the white couches, sipping from a can of iced tea that the he had purchased from the vending machine nearby.

"So… What do we do?" Kaga asked.

Drake, still thinking about it, glanced over at the other ship girls. Most of them were just lazing around, and some of them were even taking naps. He noticed Shigure and her two sisters playing a game of cards with the new destroyer, Suzutsuki. Murasame appeared to be having fun, but Shigure herself was busy trying to help Yamakaze and Suzutsuki understand the rules of the game, as both of them looked very confused.

"What about Zuikaku and Intrepid?" Drake changed the subject.

"... I apologize, but I was not able to make any progress on that," Kaga said with a sigh.

"I guess that was asking too much, wasn't it?" Drake shook his head. "I'll try talking to them myself, but there's only so much we can do. More importantly, I think I know what to do about the Abyssal islands…"

" _Rear Admiral Drake to the bridge, I repeat, Rear Admiral Drake to the bridge,"_ a voice called out over the PA system.

"Admiral Belle probably wants to know how the sortie went," he said, standing up. "You should come too, Kaga. I'll explain it there."

The pair then headed up to the bridge, where they indeed found Admiral Belle waiting. The blonde admiral nodded to them as they entered, the scar on her face as prominent as ever.

"So I see the Wo-classes have been chased off," she started. "Anything else worthy to report? Did you manage to figure out why they were here?"

Drake told Admiral Belle about the incident Kaga reported, causing Belle to frown and cross her arms.

"So they've built more artificial islands…" she summed up, not looking too happy about that. "And? Did you manage to see anything on the islands themselves?"

"Yes, but only barely. They were very tall, more like large cliffs jutting out of the sea," Kaga answered. "Our planes could get high enough to overlook them, but they were destroyed by that large enemy air group before we had a chance to get a full look at them. We saw some structures atop the islands, but they were mostly bare."

"I see…" Admiral Belle then turned back to Drake. "Well, Rear Admiral? What do you think those islands are for?"

"I believe they are anti-air platforms, and that the Abyssal fleet has stationed their carrier forces in between those islands," Drake said. "Kaga said that a large air force emerged from within the crevasse, so it's logical to assume that the enemy is housing their carriers there. Furthermore, placing the carriers in such a location would be very advantageous for them because they are surrounded on both sides by protective anti-air platforms which can shoot down any enemy carrier planes attacking the Abyssal carrier group."

"... Seems plausible, especially considering the Wo-class carriers headed there specifically," Admiral Belle agreed. "That should indicate that the rest of the Abyssal carriers are also stationed there… As for the anti-air platforms, they aren't built yet, are they?"

"I think they're still under construction, given the observations from our fighters," Drake nodded. "If we can strike before they're completed, we will have the advantage over their carrier fleet."

"One thing, though," Belle began, "you're assuming that there really is a carrier fleet in there based on the large number of Abyssal planes that were spotted. What if it's not a carrier fleet, but rather a carrier Princess?"

Drake paused to consider that possibility. "... That could be the case, but even if that's true, our strategy won't change. If we send a huge air attack on that location, even if it turns out that there's only a Princess there instead of the entire Abyssal carrier fleet, then we can still easily sink the Princess, which would be a huge blow to their forces and morale."

"I suppose so," Admiral Belle said. "It's a good thing we went to investigate those Wo-classes, isn't it? Now we know the actual location of a part of their fleet instead of just making educated guesses."

"Yes. We should strike with our carriers and destroy them as soon as possible," Drake pushed.

"I think so too. We'll bring it up at the final strategy meeting on the IJN _Bushido_ ," Belle told him. "Which, by the way, starts this evening. I was planning on heading over there now, so unless you have other business to attend to, I'd suggest you come with me so we don't have to take another boat."

Drake didn't have any problems with that, so he and Kaga were chauffeured along with Belle by some sailors in a motorboat to the battleship section of the fleet, specifically to the _Bushido_ , a massive Japanese superbattleship and the flagship of the operation. Fleet Admiral Umi and a couple other Japanese admirals were on this ship, but almost every other important admiral was to come aboard this evening for the strategy meeting.

"I've got business with Fleet Admiral Cassius and a few others before the meeting starts at five," Admiral Belle said to Drake after they were aboard the Japanese battleship. "You can do whatever until then. Just be sure to make it to the bridge when it's time."

That left Drake and Kaga alone, standing cluelessly in one of the ship's passageways.

"So… What now?" Drake asked. "There isn't really much to do here aside from wander the ship. Unless you have any better ideas, Kaga."

Kaga shook her head, so Drake just shrugged and began walking in towards where he hoped he could find some stairs that would lead to the main deck or something. The _Bushido_ was actually not too different from the _Freedom's Sacrifice_ , though it was a bit bigger and all the signs were in Japanese.

"Have you ever been aboard a Japanese battleship before?" Drake asked his secretary ship.

"I have never been aboard any ship save for the American aircraft carrier and our super jet cruisers. This is my first time aboard such a large battleship…"

"That goes for both of us, then. I don't think any American battleship is this big either."

The pair finally reached the hatch leading out to the main deck, but when Drake moved to open the door and head out to get some fresh air, his hand froze before he could touch the door. Due to the similarities of the interior of the ships, his mind flew back to the Battle of Tangier and his time aboard the _Freedom's Sacrifice_. On the other side of this door was the slumped over body of the ensign, riddled with bullet holes and bleeding out onto the deck.

"Sir, is something wrong?" Kaga asked.

"N-no, it's nothing," Drake replied, turning away from the door and pulling the rim of his hat a bit lower. "Maybe we should just go to the bridge instead…"

The hatch to the main deck suddenly swung open, and Drake nearly jumped out of his skin, half expecting it to the be the enraged spirit of the sailor he shut out coming to drag him to hell. However, he was relieved to see that it was just a Japanese seaman. By the look of his uniform, though, he appeared to be a very high-ranking one.

The Japanese officer paused when he saw Drake, then frowned. "What the hell is with you? You look like you've seen a ghost. Anyway, you're Rear Admiral Drake, right? That ship girl, Kaga, is your secretary ship, so it must be you."

"Uh, yes," Drake answered, gathering his bearings. "Who are you?"

The man's frown grew deeper. "Does this uniform not make it obvious? I am Fleet Admiral Kaigan of the Imperial Japanese Navy."

"Right…" _So he's one of Japan's three fleet admirals, in addition to Miiro and Umi?_

"I've actually been looking for you," Kaigan said. "You, an American, has somehow managed to gain joint control of one of our bases. As much as I dislike that, I suppose the Empress and the Ministry of War has a good reason for allowing this."

 _I doubt the Empress even knows who I am,_ Drake thought.

"Therefore, I would like to test you myself," the fleet admiral continued. "Come with me."

Before Drake could respond, Admiral Kaigan had already headed back out to the deck. Sighing softly to himself, Drake went out as well, with Kaga following behind. When he got to the main deck of the large battleship, he was surprised to see that a table had been set up in the center of the deck with two chairs on either side of it. Atop that table was a shogi board. To further add to Drake's confusion, he also saw Nagato, Kongou, Bismarck, and Iowa out on the deck.

"Admiral Drake! Help us!" Kongou immediately cried out upon his arrival. "We've been held here against our will and forced to play shogi all day!"

Fleet Admiral Kaigan sat down at the table and crossed his arms. "Yes, and these so-called 'ship girls' have proven themselves to be quite pathetic at the game. Those foreign ones don't even know the rules. I cannot believe that the world has truly chosen to pin its hopes on these girls over traditional ships, but unfortunately there is nothing I can do about that. I can, however, challenge you to a game, Rear Admiral Drake. Do you accept?"

Drake glanced at the shogi board. "Well, I -"

"You have to!" Kongou begged. "Fleet Admiral Kaigan said he'll let us go if you manage to beat him!"

Kaigan smirked. "It's true. If you win against me, I'll dismiss them for now. I've been sitting here bored all day since that woman, Umi, has taken over central operations, so I've been forced to play against these lower-quality opponents."

"Yeah, Captain! Kick his ass!" Iowa cheered.

"Please don't shout like that when I'm standing right next to you," Bismarck groaned.

"I'm not too good at shogi, so you're looking for the wrong guy," Drake admitted to Fleet Admiral Kaigan.

"Nonsense! Whether I like it or not, I've heard that you've actually been somewhat of a competent commander. You managed to sink the Submarine Princess, correct?" Kaigan brought up.

"Yeah, but -"

"Then take a seat, young man," Kaigan insisted.

Drake glanced at Kaga for help, but she only gave him her signature blank look, so he sighed again and just sat down across from Fleet Admiral Kaigan.

Kaigan grinned. "Good. Now, let's begin."

* * *

"That was… Disappointing," Fleet Admiral Kaigan frowned as he looked down at the shogi board.

Drake leaned back in his seat. "I told you I wasn't good at shogi. I barely even know how to play."

"Nooo! Admiral Drake!" Kongou whined, kneeling next to his chair. "How could you fail us like this, desu!"

"You shouldn't have got your hopes up in the first place," Drake shrugged.

"I expected more out of you, Rear Admiral," Kaigan shook his head. "I never thought the one who sunk the Submarine Princess would be defeated in a mere thirty minutes."

"Just goes to show that shogi isn't necessarily a good indicator of a person's strategic ability," Drake said, standing up. "Now then, if you'll excuse me…"

"Huh? You're just going to leave us here?!" Iowa questioned.

"Yeah… Sorry," Drake smirked.

"T-this isn't fair, desu!" Kongou whined.

"Quit your complaining, IJN Kongou," Fleet Admiral Kaigan admonished. "Come, let us play another game. You yourself aren't much worse than Rear Admiral Drake."

Drake and Kaga left the main deck and headed back into the interior of the ship, ignoring Kongou's cries for help.

"I can't believe a fleet admiral really has nothing better to do than play shogi all day," Drake said to his secretary ship as he began heading towards the bridge again.

"Indeed. Though perhaps his hours of practice is what allowed him to thrash you so badly, sir," Kaga replied flatly.

"Yes, thank you," Drake spat sarcastically. "Anyway, we've still got some time before the final strategy meeting starts. I was going to go to the bridge, but I feel like it would be weird if I just stood around there with nothing to do."

"We could go down to the ship girl hold," Kaga suggested. "Perhaps that would be more interesting?"

"Sure, sounds better than just wandering the ship aimlessly."

The two then changed course and began heading back below decks and towards the ship girl launching area. Since this part of the ship was the same on all vessels, Drake was able to find it without too much trouble. Inside the launching area were most of the battleship-class ship girls of the fleet, and many of them were lounging about or talking to each other when Drake entered. Upon the admiral's arrival, however, they all looked at him, which made him feel very awkward.

"Uh, don't mind me," he said, and the vast majority of them happily went back to what they were doing.

"Ah, Admiral, Kaga!" Haruna greeted them with a smile. "What are you doing here? I thought you were stationed on a different ship."

"Yeah, but there's a strategy meeting that I'm supposed to attend, so that's why I'm here," Drake explained. "So how're you doing in your new fleet?"

"Oh, it's all right… To be honest, I would prefer to fight with our regular fleet, but I like that I get to be in a fleet with my sisters," she answered.

Sure enough, where Haruna used to be sitting were two other ship girls who were dressed in a similar outfit to the one Haruna and Kongou usually wore.

"Yeah, being with your family is always nice," Drake agreed, thinking a bit nostalgically about his own, which, apart from his cousin and uncle, he hadn't seen in a while. "But Kongou's too busy playing shogi to hang with you, huh?"

"Is that where she is? She went to explore the rest of the ship with a few other battleships, but I haven't seen her since," Haruna said.

"Hey!" An angry looking blonde woman stormed towards the trio. She had on a white dress and a white beret, and a scowl marred her otherwise beautiful features. She stopped before Drake. "Are you Bismarck's admiral?"

"Yeah?" he answered, unsure of why she was so worked up about that.

"Well, you better teach her some manners!" the blonde woman declared. She had a prominent French accent.

"Why, did she insult you or something?" Based on Bismarck's previous behavior and constant arrogant attitude, Drake didn't find that hard to believe.

"Indeed she did! She had the gall to call me a 'hunk of floating metal better suited for running and surrendering than fighting'! _Ca fait mal_!"

"Oh… Well, you're better off taking that up with Bismarck herself. I'm her admiral, not her father."

"Don't tell me you're scared of her?" the blonde ship girl frowned.

"Hey, you're the one who came running to me, so I'd say it's you who's scared of her," Drake countered with a smirk.

The French battleship seethed at that. "Why you -"

"Um, Miss Richelieu, please calm down," Haruna nervously interposed herself between her admiral and the other ship girl.

"Is something the matter here? I heard shouting," Yamato, the gentle but fearsome Japanese superbattleship, said as she approached the group.

"Hmph. It's nothing," Richelieu simply replied as she walked away, causing Haruna to sigh in relief.

"Oh, Rear Admiral Drake and Kaga. Hello," Yamato greeted the two of them once Richelieu was gone.

Drake nodded. "It's been a while, hasn't it?" _Glad to see she isn't nervous around me anymore…_

"Ah, yes. I saw you at the war games meeting, but other than that, the last time we met was at the ball, no?" Yamato said, then glanced away as her cheeks reddened a bit.

 _Never mind then._

"So, uh, I heard you're going to be the combined fleet's flagship for this operation," Drake hurriedly changed the subject.

"Yes, sir. It's a big responsibility, but…" Yamato glanced at the ground, her expression a somber one.

"What? You don't think you can do it?" Kaga asked, curious about the battleship's expression.

Yamato cringed. "I'm sorry… It's just that Fleet Admiral Umi said that I will probably have to face the Battleship Princess, and…"

"Um, I'm sure it will be all right!" Haruna tried to cheer her up. "But Kongou _did_ say that the Battleship Princess was the most powerful ship she had ever seen…"

That only made Yamato more nervous, and the superbattleship's expression fell even further.

"You really shouldn't be so worried, Yamato," Drake stepped in. "Don't forget who you are. You were the pride of the Japanese Navy back in World War II, and it shouldn't be any different now. If there's anyone who I think has the strength to face the Battleship Princess, it's you."

"Admiral Drake… Thank you for your kind words. But still… I'm just not fearless like Kongou, or stoic like Kaga," Yamato lamented. "I may be a superbattleship, but sometimes it feels like I haven't lived up to that title. Even back in the War, I was sunk before I could put up much of a fight. For a ship said to be the biggest and strongest in the world, I really underperformed. I'm not worthy of your praise."

"You're wrong," Kaga said, her tone as serious as ever. "I still remember when you were first launched, Yamato. Though we in the _Kido Butai_ had great accomplishments in war and were lauded as unstoppable, even all of us felt our spirits lift when we heard that you had finally been completed. Even if you didn't accomplish much on the battlefield, that's no fault of your own. The war was practically over by the time you were put to use, and you can't be blamed because the admiralty didn't have the resources to send you on sorties. Though you may not have sunk as many ships as I did, your embodiment of the Japanese _Yamato_ spirit and the presence of your guns in our fleet filled us all with a sense of pride, and if we didn't have that, then we had nothing. Never forget that."

Yamato looked a bit stunned at Kaga's words, but she quickly replaced her surprised look with a determined smile. "Thank you, Kaga. You are absolutely right. In this new life, I've already managed to do a lot more than I did back then, and I won't stop now. I'm going to prove that I'm worthy of your praise."

"Yeah! That's the spirit!" Fleet Admiral Umi cheered as she walked over the group.

"Fleet Admiral Umi? What are you doing here?" Drake asked.

"Looking for you, actually!" Umi said. "Were you planning to skip the meeting or something?"

"W-what? The meeting's starting? I thought I still had -"

Umi cut him off with a chuckle. "Relax, relax! It's a joke. You're right, it's still very early. However, since we had just about everyone gathered up on the bridge, we decided we might as well start early. You were one of the few still missing, so I decided to find you myself."

"Oh. Sorry," Drake frowned.

"Don't worry about it. We're obviously not going to blame anyone for not being early," Umi waved him off. "Anyway, it seems like you all were discussing some important stuff here, huh?"

Yamato blushed. "N-no, they were just helping me with something. I'm sorry."

"Indeed. I heard most of it," Umi nodded with a grin. "What they said was true, Yamato. I hope their words convinced you that we all believe in you."

"Yes, ma'am," Yamato nodded and smiled. "I won't disappoint you. Any of you."

"That's great!" Umi then threw her arms around Drake and Yamato, pulling the two taller figures closer to herself. "And when this is all over, let's all get drinks together, just like last time!"

Drake and Yamato blushed again at that, but both of them couldn't help but grin along with the fleet admiral's cheerful attitude as her merry laughter filled the holding area.


	30. My Promise VI

Rear Admiral Richard Drake stood out on the deck of the IJN _Bushido_ , his arms crossed and his eyes closed as he leaned against the bulkhead. The door from the interior that led out onto the main deck kept opening and closing as various sailors went in and out of the ship's interior, and the the constant chattering that went on as the sailors relayed orders and preparations to each other did not make the deck a quiet place to relax. Still, Drake liked the feel of the night sea breeze, so he found it calming to stand out there. He opened his brown eyes and stared at the shiny black sea.

 _Soon those waters will be filled with blood and the sound of war,_ he thought. Activity in the Abyssal fleet had increased significantly, so after the strategy meeting, Fleet Admiral Umi had issued an order to all ships saying to be ready to sortie at a moment's notice. That was the reason why there was so much commotion on the deck, though most probably, no actual fighting would take place until the next morning at the earliest.

Drake himself didn't have much to do at the moment. Admiral Belle had stayed on the bridge with a few other senior officers, but Drake himself was not needed, so he was down here waiting. Most of the other officers had already gone back to their respective ships, but since Drake had to leave with Admiral Belle, he would have to wait until her business was concluded. Normally he would be glad to have a bit of time off, but now that he was on the eve of the biggest battle of his career and possibly one that could decide the fate of humanity, he felt kind of uncomfortable just standing there and doing nothing.

He then felt a series of small vibrations in his pocket, and he pulled out his phone to see someone calling him. Blinking at the caller ID, he moved his finger across the slider to pick up the call.

"Hello?"

" _Hey, Rich! How's it going?"_ a cheery voice greeted from the other side. The man's voice had a strange cadence to it, as if someone were speaking in a mixture of British and American accents.

"Fine, I guess. Why're you calling me?"

" _Woah, there. That's all you have to say to your dad who you haven't spoke to in so long?"_

"It's only been a couple weeks since I last talked to you," Drake responded flatly.

" _And that's a long time! I was giving you some space because I know you have to prepare for that battle."_

"Yeah, and the fight could actually start any minute now, so…"

" _Really? Glad I caught you in time, then!"_ Drake's father replied enthusiastically, much in contrast to his son's tone of voice.

"Not really. I don't have time to be talking to anyone right now." That was a lie, but Drake was a bit too nervous and on edge to engage in a friendly conversation with his father.

" _Hm, why do I feel like you're lying to me? Anyway, I'll let you get back to 'work' soon enough. I just wanted to talk to you once before the big battle. Make sure you stay safe out there, you hear? Your mother says so too."_

"I'll be fine. My ship will be in the very back of the fleet, so I probably won't come into contact with the enemy at all," Drake said, trying to reassure his father. He really didn't like it when other people worried about him, even if those people were his own parents. Though he knew they meant well, it only made him feel like a child.

" _That's good. Just make sure a stray shell or something doesn't wipe you out, haha!"_

 _Is that something to be laughing about?_ Drake thought as he sighed. "Yeah, yeah."

" _Okay, then! I look forward to hearing about your victory on the news! Don't forget to call afterwards!"_

"All right. Bye."

Drake hung up the phone, then decided to head back inside. Kaga was below decks with the battleships, so that was where Drake went as well. However, on the way there, he was stopped by someone.

"Ah, Rear Admiral Drake," the Italian admiral from Tangier, Paola Veronese, greeted him. "I see you are still around."

"Yeah, I have to wait for Admiral Belle before I can leave," Drake said. "I guess it's the same with you?"

"Yes, Ammiraglio Caravaggio is still speaking, so I must wait as well," she sighed. "So, have you just come from gazing at the stars?"

"Uh, sort of."

"Indeed. The view of the sea and the stars at night has always calmed me. My father used to be a fisherman, and he would take me out on trips at night in his small boat. It reminds me of those times," Veronese said with a wistful look in her eye.

"So you used to live by the Mediterranean?" Drake asked.

"The town of Amalfi, to be exact," Veronese nodded. "It was nice… Unfortunately, there is nothing left for me there now. My father and brother sometimes worked for a fishing and cargo company when we needed the extra money, and they perished on one of their cruises during an Abyssal attack. My mother died of a broken heart shortly afterwards. Because of that, I sold our house there and joined the Regia Marina. The Abyssals have taken much from me, and I think it is about time I had a turn at them instead."

Though Paola Veronese spoke with an easy, untroubled tone, Drake could see the sadness, anger, and burning hatred behind her eyes. He had seen those same things in his own stare when he looked in the mirror, and they were unmistakable.

"Hah, but I shouldn't bore you with my history," Veronese waved off after a brief, somber silence. "I'm going to go out on the decks for a bit. If I don't see you before the battle, then I wish you good luck. _O la vittoria, o tutti accoppati_."

With that last Italian phrase that Drake didn't understand, Veronese headed out onto the deck, and Drake continued down towards the ship girl hold. When he got there, he found that it was a lot emptier than it was a few hours ago. He guessed that most of the ship girls were either wandering other parts of the ship or asleep in their barracks since it was fairly late at night. The only ship girls (aside from Kaga) who were still in the hold were Kongou, Haruna, and Bismarck, and he wondered if they had stayed because they knew he was coming.

"There you are, Te~i~to~ku," Kongou greeted cheerily.

"I see you're still energetic," Drake said, stifling a yawn.

"Of course! The sun never sets on the British Empire, desu!" Kongou declared.

"No British person says 'desu,'" Bismarck told her with a frown.

"S-sure they do!" Kongou protested. "Right, Haruna?"

"Eh…? Um, I…"

"Are we leaving now, Admiral?" Kaga asked Drake, saving Haruna from having to answer.

"Unfortunately not. Admiral Belle is still up on the bridge, so it may be a while."

There was a brief silence.

"... So, uh, the battle will probably start tomorrow, won't it?" Kongou asked in a quiet tone.

"That's what it looks like. We have a winning strategy, though, so don't worry too much," Drake assured her.

"Yeah, of course, desu," Kongou nodded and smiled. Her face then fell a bit. "But those Abyssal Princesses are strong… Like, _really_ strong."

"Maybe for you, but I won't lose to scum like them," Bismarck replied haughtily.

"I did say not to worry too much, but that doesn't mean you should get overconfident," Drake frowned at her. "I won't be there to save you if you get in any trouble, you know."

"Hmph! As if I would need you to save me from anything," Bismarck turned her nose up at him.

"Okay. Just making sure you know that you won't have my orders to guide you anymore," Drake shrugged.

"B-but we can still contact you if we absolutely need to, right?" Bismarck quickly asked.

Drake smirked at her sudden change in tone. "Yeah, I guess so."

"Admiral! Even if we're fighting in a different fleet, we'll still do our best!" Haruna decided.

"I'm sure you will. You two should watch out for each other during the battle, okay?" Drake said, addressing Bismarck and Haruna.

The two battleships glanced at each other. Apart from being in the same fleet, they didn't really interact with each other all that much. They were often sparring partners during training, but aside from that, they tended to keep different company during their time off.

"Yes! I'll help out too!" Kongou shouted, putting her arms around Haruna and Bismarck, much to the former's happiness and the latter's displeasure.

Drake felt his phone vibrate again. "That must be Admiral Belle. Let's go, Kaga. Good luck tomorrow, you three."

* * *

Dressed in his finest white uniform, Drake stood out on the flight deck of the USS _Raw Screams of Liberty_. It was a clear, sunny morning, a stark contrast to the tense air of battle that hung over the entire fleet. Also present on the flight deck were many of the carrier's crew, with the exception being those who were on watch or were engaged in other more pressing duties. They were lined up in an organized formation, standing at attention. The ship girl carrier fleet that Drake was commanding was also on the flight deck, though they were standing a bit off to the side. Drake himself was currently standing beside them as well, waiting for Admiral Belle to finish talking to a few other officers at the head of the formation.

Admiral Belle walked up to Drake. "Well, Rear Admiral? I think you should do the honors for this operation."

"M-me?"

Belle smirked at him. "Yes. I've always wondered what your singing voice sounds like."

"I think you'll regret that decision, ma'am," Drake joked, and Belle only patted him on the back and smiled as she walked back towards the sailors.

Drake sighed, then turned towards the ship girls, most of whom were wondering why they had been called out there.

"Each ship in the USLN is required to go through this pre-battle ceremony before the start of any major operation, so that's why we're all out here," Drake explained. "For those of you who were with me at Los Angeles, Fleet Admiral Wei didn't care about ceremonies, so we didn't do it back then, but it looks like we're doing it now. It's meant to raise morale or something, so yeah."

"And what exactly is the ceremony, sir?" Zuikaku asked.

"Oh, right. Basically you just have all the sailors line up and the commanding officer gives a short speech. Then the commander sings the first line of the national anthem by himself before everyone else joins in, but since a lot of you aren't American, you don't have to."

"And you're giving the speech then?" Shoukaku assumed, overhearing Belle's words to Drake.

"Yeah, unfortunately. I didn't prepare anything in advance because I thought Admiral Belle would be giving it, but fuck it. Nobody's expecting a good speech anyway," Drake said. "Well, looks like I should get started."

With some slight rigidity, Drake walked up to the head of the group of sailors. Each sailor stood with his or her eyes pointed straight forward. They wore neutral looks, but beneath their orderly masks, Drake was sure that many of them were nervous. He really had no idea what to say in a situation like this, so he decided he'd just say as little as possible.

"I'll make this quick," he started, "today could very well be the most important battle humanity has ever fought. The enemy is strong and the enemy is dangerous, but so are you. You were trained for this very moment. Now, it's time to put that training to use. That is all."

Drake then turned around and faced the American flag that flew from the ship's tower. Sighing again to himself, he began singing.

"O say can you see…"

The rest of the sailors joined in after that line, and soon the flight deck of the USS _Raw Screams of Liberty_ was filled with the hearty voices of seamen singing the Star-Spangled Banner.

After the singing of the anthem ended, the sailors shuffled back inside the ship and began preparing for battle. Drake walked over to the carrier ship girls.

"Your voice is kind of terrible, sir," Zuikaku greeted him as he returned.

"Thank you, I'm aware of that," Drake glared at her. "Anyway… Looks like things are about to begin. You all remember the battle plan we went over this morning, right?"

The carriers nodded.

"Okay, then you know that our carrier forces' objective is to eliminate the enemy carriers. From our sortie yesterday, we figured out that the enemy carrier fleet is positioned in the crevice between those two artificial Abyssal cliffs that are sticking up out of the ocean. If we can strike first and fast, the Abyssals won't have time to mobilize their planes to mount a decent defense, and we can overwhelm them before they have a chance to counter. So yeah, that's what we'll be doing. Any new questions since this morning?"

"I actually do have one," Graf Zeppelin spoke up, "How are we so sure that the Abyssals won't mobilize their planes before we do?"

Drake crossed his arms. "Well, it would be suicidal for them to do that. Our fleet right now is more or less concentrated in one spot, which means that all our anti-air fire is _also_ concentrated in one spot. The Abyssals are probably going to wait for our fleet to break up and assume our battle positions before they actually launch their own planes. Unfortunately for them, we're going to launch our planes right now and _then_ break our fleet up, therefore catching them off-guard. By the time they notice our planes on their radar and try to scramble their own air defense, it will be too late."

"So that's why the Abyssals haven't made a move yet…" Zuikaku realized.

"Indeed. And I assume that the presence of the Wo-classes yesterday was to scout our fleet and determine whether our formation was still so concentrated," Kaga added.

Drake nodded. "That's what I was thinking too."

"Hm… So we can wipe out all their air power with this one move?" Graf Zeppelin summed up.

"Pretty much. And if we can nullify their air power, then the rest of our fleet has much more freedom to move," the admiral said.

"All right! We've got the most important job in the fleet!" Zuikaku exclaimed with a grin. "Let's go, then! No need to wait around anymore, right?"

"Guess not. Let's head down to the launching area," Drake agreed.

The ship girls and their admiral went down to the ship girl launching area, where they found the destroyers and light cruisers making adjustments to their equipment. Once again, the normal engineers and sailors who readied the ship girl equipment were busy with other things, so the destroyers and light cruisers had stayed behind to finish setting up the equipment.

"Are we sortieing, sir?" Amatsukaze asked with a salute as Drake and the carriers entered.

"Yeah. Admiral Belle has cleared us to sail at any time, so let's go."

"Roger that."

The carriers made their way over to their respective riggings, as did the destroyers and light cruisers. As Yamakaze walked by him, Drake paused a bit and then grabbed her by the shoulder, stopping her.

Yamakaze whirled around with fright. "W-what is it, sir?"

"You look like you're about to faint," Drake frowned. "You're not scared, are you?"

"N-no, of course not," she replied, though her trembling didn't help her case.

 _God damn it, I don't have time for this,_ Drake lamented. "Is this about the last sortie?"

"N-no… I'm not scared. I'm not!"

Drake placed his hand on her head. "Look, that won't happen again. You've got plenty more comrades to fight with you this time, right?"

"Y-yeah…"

Drake groaned in frustration. "You're a warship, Yamakaze. Act like one."

"I'm sorry…" she meekly apologized as her eyes filled with tears.

 _Maybe I shouldn't be so forceful._ "Don't cry. All I'm saying is that you're strong, and that you shouldn't be afraid. Look at your sister, Shigure. She also had the shit beaten out of her before, but does she look scared to you?"

Yamakaze glanced over at Shigure, who was busy getting into her rigging with a hard, determined look in her normally gentle blue eyes. Thankfully, it looked like Drake's words to Shigure did have an effect on the ship girl.

"See? She and Murasame will be with you the whole time. There's no need to worry," Drake told her as he patted her soft, seafoam-green hair.

"Okay… I'll do my best then, sir."

"Good. Now go and sink those Abyssals," Drake said, gently pushing her in the direction of her rigging.

As the ship girls got ready, Drake tapped a few commands on the nearby panel on the bulkhead, opening the door to the launching room and allowing some water from the South China Sea into the launching area. The ship girls stepped off their supports and onto the water, and the vast blue sea stretched out ahead of them as they prepared to sail out of the room.

"All right, you're cleared to sortie. Let's win this battle," Drake announced to them.

With that, most of the ship girls sailed out, beginning the Naval Battle of Okinawa. Kaga, however, stayed behind momentarily. Drake walked over to her.

"Will you be fine here, sir?" she asked.

"Yeah. I told you, don't worry about me," he said with a small smile.

She returned his smile with a rare one of her own. "Then I'll come back to you victorious."

Kaga sailed off, and Drake watched as she and the fleet faded out of view.

* * *

Kaga sailed onwards in the direction of the enemy carrier fleet, surrounded by her fellow ship girls. The other carriers sailed close to her, and the destroyers and light cruisers formed a diamond formation around the carriers, prepared to protect them from Abyssal air attacks.

Raising a hand to her brow to shade her eyes from the sun, Kaga got a good look at the two artificial Abyssal islands that jutted out from the blue waters. Up above the ocean and flying towards the structures was the carrier airstrike the fleet had launched. As per Admiral Drake's orders, the airstrike consisted of the vast majority of the carriers' airpower, with only a minimal number left behind in reserves.

" _The rest of the fleet has begun to move into their battlestations,"_ Drake's voice cautioned his ship girl fleet through the comms. " _The Abyssals themselves have also begun to mobilize to meet them. How's it going so far?"_

Kaga checked her planes' feed. "Our airstrike has been launched, and it is too late for the enemy to muster up an organized counter airstrike. Everything is going according to plan so far, sir."

" _All right. Let me know if anything changes."_

"Heh. This is going to be so easy," Zuikaku nodded confidently.

"Yeah, don't jinx it," Intrepid rolled her eyes.

"Huuuh? You say something?" Zuikaku frowned as she turned to look at the American.

"Maybe I did. So what?"

"Y-you…!"

At that moment, Kaga noticed that the planes had entered into the area above the crevice in between the two artificial islands.

"Shut up, you two!" Kaga ordered. "Get ready to drop your bombs. Do you see the Abyssal fleet down below?"

The carriers all began focusing on their own feeds now, and they were greeted with the pleasant sight of the Abyssal carriers struggling to launch their planes. The sleek, black Abyssal fighters and bombers taxied out of the helmets of Wo-classes, but they needed time to get in the air and establish a cruising altitude, so they were currently helpless.

Kaga was about to start the devastating bombing run, but suddenly, the feed she was looking at cut away and disappeared. Thinking an Abyssal had got lucky with anti-air fire, she quickly switched over to another one of her planes, but soon that also cut off. She switched to a third, but that disappeared as well.

"W-wait, my planes keep getting shot down!" Kaga heard Taihou exclaim from behind her.

" _Scheisse_! Mine as well!" Graf Zeppelin added as she scowled. "I thought they wouldn't be prepared for us!"

"Zuikaku, what's going on?" Katsuragi asked with a worried look.

Zuikaku in turn looked to Kaga. "What the hell's happening? Why are our planes being downed so frequently!"

Ignoring the cacophony surrounding her, Kaga focused on her plane feeds. She maneuvered one of her fighters upward and slightly away from the battlefield so she could get a better view of what was going on… And when she circled her plane around to take a look at where the bulk of the anti-air fire was coming from, she stared down at a pair of sinister red eyes and a pale, smirking face. Following that, her plane was immediately shot down.

"Damn it," Kaga cursed under her breath as she realized who she was dealing with.

"Kaga," Shoukaku sailed up beside her with a stern look in her eye.

"I saw her," Kaga said.

"I'm afraid it's worse. There's two of them," Shoukaku added grimly.

"Two?" Kaga repeated with a frown. _That would explain why our planes are being shot down so quickly…_

Shoukaku nodded. "Both the Entombed Anti-Air Guardian Princess and the Air Defense Princess are ensconced within the enemy carrier fleet."

"That's not good. We need to tell the Admiral about this," Kaga replied. She then turned towards the other carriers. "Everyone, recall your planes for now! We're retreating!"

"What planes? I barely have any left!" Zuikaku complained. "Shoukaku, what's happening?"

"Enemy anti-air Princesses are stationed in between those islands," Shoukaku informed her sister.

"Wait, what? We didn't hear anything about that," Ark Royal brought up, her eyebrows furrowed.

"This was unexpected. As I said, we're retreating from now," Kaga said. "Fleet, fall back!"

* * *

Drake stood by the main monitor in the situation room. Numerous drones were circling the battlefield, which gave him a general view of the ocean, but since the drones had to be positioned far away to avoid being shot down by the Abyssals, the view he got was rather limited. Instead, he would have to mainly rely on radar and the communications of his ship girls. The carrier he was on was too distant from the main battlefield to actually see anything, which, to be honest, he was thankful for.

There were a few other junior officers working in the situation room, but most of the other officers, including Admiral Belle, were up on the bridge. Drake was allowed to stay below in the situation room to coordinate the junior officers, but thanks to the impressive communications equipment set up by INFCOM, he would be able to contact any other section of the fleet merely by fiddling a bit with his earpiece and console.

Right now, the rest of the fleet was engaged in battle. Both the ship girl and human battleship fleets had started shelling the Abyssals, and the Abyssals were shelling back as well. Roughly speaking, their plan was to eliminate the Abyssal carrier forces and then have the ship girl battleships and heavy cruisers charge into the center of the Abyssal formation with air cover. If the ship girls had air cover and the Abyssals didn't, then the heavy ship charge would shock and easily cut through the enemy defense. The Abyssal formation would then fall apart, leading to disarray and defeat. Afterwards, the regular ships and ship girl submarines would clean up the remainder of the enemy forces. Drake also noticed that there was a fleet of regular submarines stationed behind even the human carriers, but he wasn't exactly sure what they were supposed to do since there had been no mention of them in the battle plan.

"Rear Admiral! A communique from _Bushido_ ," Lieutenant Commander Longfellow alerted him. She had light brown hair messily tied in a long ponytail, green eyes, and freckles, and she was the second-most senior officer down in the situation room.

 _Why is Fleet Admiral Umi sending me a message right now?_ Drake wondered as he tapped the screen a few times to get the message to pop up.

However, when he clicked 'play,' it was not Umi's voice that he heard.

" _Ah… Rear Admiral Drake?"_

Drake's eyes widened, and he scowled. "Battleship Princess… Why are you talking to me?"

" _Oh, I asked for you specifically. The battle has started, hasn't it?"_

"Yeah. So why are you wasting time with me instead of fighting?"

" _Do not worry, Admiral Drake. I will be on the battlefield soon enough."_

Drake could almost feel the sinister satisfaction creep out of her words.

" _But before that, I just wanted to mention one thing,"_ the Battleship Princess continued. " _You have bested me in tactics twice now: once at Tangier, and once at that island. However, understand that I do not take defeat lightly. Admiral Drake! This will be the true test of our skills! Who will emerge victorious, I wonder?"_

Before Drake could say anything else, the communication cut off.

 _That cocky bitch… Who does she think she's talking to? Let's see how she feels when her carrier fleet is destroyed._

Speaking of that, Drake wanted to check up again on how Kaga's progress was going. Just as he was about to ask, his flagship's voice sounded in his ear.

" _Admiral, the situation has taken a turn for the worse. We've found out that there are two anti-air Princess stationed in the midst of the enemy carrier fleet. I've ordered a general retreat, but we've lost about eighty percent of our planes, and there are still some we've yet to recover. Your orders?"_

Drake could hear the edge in Kaga's normally calm voice, and he could understand why.

"Wait, eighty percent of your planes? Are you serious?" Drake replied, trying to keep his tone level.

" _Unfortunately, sir. We didn't know the anti-air Princesses would be there…"_

The American admiral took in her words, paused momentarily, then smashed his fist against the bulkhead, causing a nearby ensign to jump in fright.

 _What the fuck! How?! How did I not see this coming!?_

He had realized exactly what had happened. The visit from those Wo-classes yesterday was not some sort of 'scouting mission'; it was a deliberate attempt to bait him into attacking. When the Wo-classes brought Kaga, Zuikaku, and Intrepid close to the artificial islands, they made a show of having a large number of Abyssal fighters emerge from the crevice in between those islands, therefore establishing the fact that all their carriers were stationed there. However, Drake had been so caught up in the fact that he now knew the location of their carriers that he didn't think about the possibility of a trap. It was like the Abyssals had dangled delicious grapes in front of a starving animal, only to hit the animal with a stick when it got close enough to bite into the grapes. The problem is that when you're starving, you're not thinking about what the one giving you food has in his other hand.

To make matters worse, this was basically the exact tactic that Admiral Hayama had used in the war games session. The Abyssal bait in this scenario was a bit more elaborate and convincing, but that was no excuse. The end result was that Drake had failed, and he had failed miserably. The ship girl carriers were INFCOM's primary source of airpower, and they had just lost eighty percent of it. Drake's goal had been to eliminate the Abyssals' air capacity, but instead, he found that the Abyssals had done it to him instead.

" _... Admiral?"_ Kaga asked, snapping Drake out of his internal angst.

He clenched his fists angrily. "Retreating was the right decision. Standby for further orders."

" _Understood, sir, but every moment we wait, the enemy carriers are preparing their planes for an attack."_

"I'll think of something, okay?!" he shouted in frustration. "... Sorry. But I will think of something. Just… Hold on until then, all right?"

" _Yes, sir."_

Drake bit his fist as he stared at the screen. Most of the officers in the room were looking at him out of the corner of their eyes, and he knew that they realized that something was not right. Truth be told, Drake had no idea of what to do in this situation. He had not expected such a massive role reversal, and now that the fleet had lost almost all of its airpower, he had half a mind to just retreat fully. However, he obviously could not do that, as he wasn't in command of the entire fleet and retreating would be abandoning the entire island of Okinawa to the hands of the Abyssals. A retreat would also be a massive blow to morale, as this was the largest and supposedly the best fleet that humanity had ever put together.

Realizing he was starting to panic, Drake took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and picked up the wired phone on the table beside the command console. The line went straight to the bridge, and so Admiral Belle would pick it up since she knew it would be Drake calling.

" _Hello?"_ Belle's voice answered.

Drake related the whole situation to Admiral Belle, who listened without interrupting. Then, she sighed.

" _I know you're not the type, but please tell me this is some sort of elaborate joke, Rear Admiral."_

Drake remained silent.

" _All right. Let's stay calm, then. The battle isn't lost. Have you thought about what you're going to order your fleet to do next?"_

Drake felt like he was back at his training course, and Belle was his instructor again. This time, however, the consequences of a wrong answer would literally be a matter of life and death.

"I… I… My carriers can't fight the entire enemy carrier fleet anymore. I have to order them to retreat back to the main fleet so they can fight under the umbrella of anti-air."

" _What main fleet? All the components of our fleet have broken up to go to their own missions, remember? If you pull your carriers back, you'll just be drawing Abyssal bombers to us, killing us all."_

Frowning again, Drake thought about the situation once more. _If I can't retreat, then…_

"I'll have the carriers sail in between the Abyssal islands and engage the enemy in short-range combat. That way, the overwhelming air superiority that the enemy has doesn't matter as much because they would risk hitting their own ships. I'm also fairly certain that any of my ship girls can beat an Abyssal in close combat."

However, Drake then realized that the vast majority of his fleet was made up of ship girls who he didn't train, and he had no idea whether they were any good at CQC.

" _If that's your plan, then fine,"_ Belle said. " _You're not my student anymore, Drake. Even if your first plan failed, think of something else. Don't forget that you were given your position because we trusted you. And don't think that this is all your fault, because all of us approved the plan together. But either way, I still believe you can win this, all right? Keep me updated."_

Admiral Belle then ended the call, and Drake held the phone limply in his hand. He had heard Admiral Belle's words, but he still couldn't get over the fact that his plan had been manipulated so easily.

 _That Abyssal bitch…!_ Drake recalled the Battleship Princess' mocking tone. _She outsmarted me. She fucking outsmarted me!_

* * *

As the carriers tried to get the last of their planes out of the Abyssal anti-air deathtrap, the frustration and anxiety among the ship girls only increased. All around her, Kaga could hear the various carriers curse or groan as their planes were shot down, and some of the more collected ones called out positions of enemy planes or the location of the Princesses in order to help the rest get their planes out safely. Kaga herself was focused on viewing the feeds from her planes, and since so many of her aircraft had been shot down already, it was imperative that she try and save every last remaining one.

However, things had become more difficult now that some of the Abyssal carriers had managed to get their own planes in the air. Kaga was currently trying to get three of her fighters out of the area, but she was being pursued by a larger Abyssal fighter squadron. As she was maneuvering her planes, she caught Shoukaku's look out of the corner of her eye. Understanding what that meant, Kaga suddenly turned her planes towards the right, causing the Abyssal fighters to follow. As the Abyssal jets chased her planes, a few more Zeroes suddenly appeared behind the Abyssal planes. The ship girl fighters started firing and immediately shot down some of the Abyssal ones, allowing Kaga's planes to finally escape.

Kaga nodded in thanks to Shoukaku, then checked with the rest of the fleet.

"Keep fighting! We need as many planes back as we can get."

Soon enough, the final ship girl planes began returning and landing on the flight decks of the carriers, though there were much, much fewer than had first flew off.

 _Maybe eighty percent was too conservative an estimate,_ Kaga grimaced.

"What do we do now?" Amatsukaze asked, sailing over to Kaga. "Did the Admiral say anything?"

Kaga took a moment to look over the rest of her destroyer and light cruiser escorts. Though they weren't participating in the battle right now, even they had realized that the situation was rapidly deteriorating, and she could see traces of nervousness on their faces.

"Not yet. He should -"

Kaga stopped short as he noticed the Abyssal Wo-classes sailing out of the crevice in between the two islands. However, instead of coming towards her like she expected, they began sailing in a different direction, away from the ship girls. Surprisingly, the two anti-air Princess were also following the carriers.

Kaga held her hand up to her earpiece. "Admiral. The enemy carriers and anti-air Princesses have begun sailing east."

" _... East? Wait… They must be going towards the rest of our fleet, which is unprotected and without much air cover."_

"What do we do? They're completely ignoring us now," Kaga said.

" _... We absolutely cannot let them attack the rest of our fleet. Go in close and stall them for now. I'll try and divert the battleship strike over to you so that we can sink those carriers."_

Having spent so much time together with her admiral, Kaga could now tell whenever he was feeling unsure by the tone of his voice, even though he endeavored to hide it. It was clear to her that Drake didn't prepare for this situation, but nevertheless, she still trusted him to make the right decision.

"Understood." Kaga turned to the other ship girls. "You heard the Admiral. We're sailing towards the enemy carriers, and we're going to defeat them with CQC. Their air superiority should offer them less of an advantage if we come that close."

"But can we defeat all of them with our small number?" Shoukaku questioned. "After all, not all of us are trained in CQC…"

"Yeah, some people are just going to hold us back," Zuikaku agreed, shooting a side glance at Intrepid.

Kaga didn't know what to say. "What else can we do? We've lost most of our planes…"

Taihou suddenly let out a gasp. "W-wait, look over there!"

The fleet looked back towards the crevice in between the two islands. There, they saw two figures emerge from in between the islands, sailing straight towards the ship girls.

Kaga narrowed her eyes as she watched them approach. She held a hand up to her earpiece again, adrenaline pumping through her veins.

"Admiral, we have another problem. We've got a visual on the Aircraft Carrier Princess and the Airfield Princess approaching our position."

" _... I see. Well, I'll have Fleet Admiral Miiro send his light carriers to harass the Wo-classes instead, then. But this situation is actually better for you. If it's only two enemies, you'll have a better chance of defeating them in CQC."_

"Is he serious? Those are two Princesses," Zuikaku muttered.

"Heh. But we have unfinished business with one of them," Akagi smirked.

"Yeah. I'm actually glad for this opportunity," Souryuu added, still mentally smarting from the last time she faced the Airfield Princess.

Kaga looked into the red eyes of the Aircraft Carrier Princess, which seemed so haunting even from this far away. Ever since she first saw her during the diplomatic meeting, the aura of the Aircraft Carrier Princess had been lingering in Kaga's mind.

"New orders, then," Kaga pointed towards the approaching Abyssals. "Fleet, sink those Princesses! Charge!"


	31. My Promise VII

_A/N: Today marks the one-year anniversary of when this story was first uploaded. To be honest, I never thought I would get this far. When I get interested in something, my interest is usually very strong but also very short-lived. I mainly used this site as an outlet for those interests, but as mentioned, I only needed that outlet for a short amount of time. If you look at my profile on here, you'll see a graveyard of stories with only a handful chapters that have just been forgotten because my interest died out._

 _However, this story has been the exception. I don't know why, but my interest in Kancolle has managed to last over a year, and it has pretty much remained at the same level of intensity. Maybe it's because of the fanworks/fanart surrounding the series, or my interest in war history, or maybe it's because of the gameplay, but whatever it is, it's allowed me to continue writing for all this time._

 _So it's been one year, and I've written thirty-one chapters. I don't know if that's considered a slow pace, a fast pace, or somewhere in the middle, but eh, it is what it is. I guess my chapters are fairly long (story is about 211k words), so at least there's that. Anyway, thank you to everyone who has reviewed/favorited/followed and read this story so far. I really do appreciate any sort of feedback even if it's just one or two words, and it's nice to know that there are others who are interested in the same things I am._

 _Either way, thanks again for reading, and hopefully the wind in my sails doesn't die out anytime soon._

* * *

"Reloading!" Bismarck called out as she watched her shells sail through the air and towards the Abyssal fleet in the distance.

Return fire from the enemy battleships filled the air with dull whistling noises, and the resounding bursts that followed the Abyssal shells sinking into the sea splashed Bismarck with water from time to time.

"Do you think our shells are hitting?" Prinz Eugen asked as she looked over the horizon with a worried expression.

"Who knows. We're too far away right now," Bismarck replied.

"But I guess that goes both ways. The Abyssals can't really hit us either," the destroyer Z3, also known as Max, said. She and Z1 were escorting the battleship fleet along with some other destroyers and light cruisers, but the two Germans decided to stick closer to their compatriots.

"Right. Though we'll be ordered to charge in soon enough," Bismarck told them before firing off another shot.

"Hm… It's taking longer than I expected, though," Z1, or Lebe, admitted with a frown.

"Yeah, I thought the admirals told us we'd only be shelling for a short period of time," Prinz agreed.

"So what are we waiting on?" Max asked. She then turned Bismarck. "Bismarck? Do you know?"

"Admiral Drake is supposed to defeat the enemy carriers and then send over air support," Bismarck informed them. "After that is when it will be safe to charge in."

"Oh. So no wonder it's taking so long. Sinking an entire fleet isn't exactly quick work," Max said.

Bismarck frowned. "Maybe, but our carriers were supposed to catch the enemy off-guard, and so theoretically it shouldn't take so long. We've been here for nearly forty-five minutes now…"

Though she didn't want to admit it, Bismarck did feel a bit worried. What if something had happened to Drake's fleet? Several of her fleetmates were part of that squadron, and Drake himself was her admiral. When she first arrived in Japan from Germany, she thought she would hate it there, but after a rocky start, everyone in the fleet had started treating her like a true teammate. Drake also went out of his way to make sure she was doing well, and so Bismarck didn't want anything bad to happen to them.

She was snapped out of her thoughts by a voice sounding in her small earpiece.

" _Heavy Fleet! Prepare to charge!"_ Fleet Admiral Umi ordered. " _Battleship Yamato will lead the charge! All ships, ready for battle!"_

Some of the battleships cheered with excitement and anticipation, and Bismarck herself let of a small sigh of relief. The fact that they were being ordered to finally go through with the charge meant that Drake's air cover would be arriving soon.

"Fleet! Form up!" Yamato called out as she sailed to the head of the formation.

Bismarck fell in line with the other battleships and heavy cruisers as the escorting destroyers and light cruisers formed up around them. The heavy fleet took on a sort of arrowhead formation, and their goal was to penetrate into the center of the Abyssal fleet and cause a collapse of the enemy formation.

Yamato's tall, graceful figure sailed forwards, leading the rest of the fleet. Because they were prioritizing speed, the battleships and heavy cruisers didn't fire their guns as they sailed, and this allowed them to maneuver a bit more easily. The fleet stayed mostly in formation, only breaking slightly when one or two ships had to swerve to avoid a stray enemy shell.

The sound of airplanes then sounded in the ocean air, but it was different from the noise that Bismarck was used to. Looking up, she noticed that the planes flying overhead were the modern, human-piloted F-35s, not ship girl aircraft.

" _Hello, how's everybody doing?"_ a cheery, familiar voice spoke in Bismarck's earpiece. " _This is Captain Brackett of the 29th USLAF Air Squadron speaking. We'll be your air cover for today… Oh, hey, it's Bisko! You remember me, Bisko?"_

Bismarck blushed at being called out. "Yes, I remember! And what's with that name!"

Brackett only laughed in response.

"But anyway, why are you here? I thought our air cover was going to be from the ship girl fleet?" Bismarck then asked.

The other ship girls who had been listening with amused looks now wore serious expressions, also curious to know why they had deviated from the plan.

" _They're a bit busy right now, but don't worry, they should be here soon enough!"_ Brackett assured her.

That feeling of worry again crept back into Bismarck's mind, but she had to ignore it for now. Overhead, she could see a few Abyssal planes flying towards them, which she assumed must have been launched from enemy aviation battleships.

" _Oh, shit, looks like it's starting,"_ Brackett realized. " _Well, we'll do our best - that's honestly all I can promise. See ya on the other side, Bisko! Let's go, boys!"_

The jets rushed off to intercept the Abyssal aircraft, endeavoring to keep them from reaching the charging battleships. Bismarck watched them with a bit of nervousness. Though Brackett didn't sound scared, she knew that human-piloted aircraft had a poor record when facing Abyssal planes. The F-35s seemed to outnumber the Abyssal jets for now, so she hoped that it would be enough.

The F-35s engaged the Abyssal fighters, opening fire with their Equalizer gatling guns. In the initial barrage, a couple Abyssal planes were shot down, exploding in a burst of fire after being hit with the F-35s' guns. However, the superior mobility of the Abyssal jets allowed them to quickly outmaneuver the F-35s and circle behind them. Bismarck watched in horror as the Abyssal planes began shooting and blew apart the larger F-35s, sending them spiraling down into the ocean or blasting them into flaming pieces. The burning, metallic wrecks of the F-35s flew through the air, scattering into the ocean below in a rather chaotic manner. The whole thing was over within two minutes.

The remainder of the Abyssal planes approached the battleships, but thanks to the effort of the recently-departed F-35 pilots, there were only about half of the Abyssal planes left, and the anti-air fire from the destroyers and light cruisers managed to bring them down.

Bismarck clenched her teeth in frustration, hiding her eyes under her cap. She felt so helpless watching that scene. She noticed Prinz Eugen glancing at her with worry, so she quickly tried to reform her neutral expression.

"Admiral, requesting further air support if possible. All friendly planes have been shot down," Yamato reported grimly from the front of the formation.

" _Roger that, Yamato. We'll have carrier planes take off from IJN_ 47 Ronin _if you need additional air cover,"_ Umi replied.

Nagato didn't seem happy about that. "More human-piloted planes? They're flying right to their deaths…"

" _They came into this fight with the full knowledge that they could die, Nagato,"_ Umi reminded her. " _You feel the same way, no?"_

"Yes, but it's not the same. It feels unnecessary to waste their lives when we have ship girl planes that can do a much better job and do it more safely," Nagato argued.

" _Well, that's the problem. We don't actually have those planes. It looks like our carrier fleet has run into some issues, so it's unlikely that you'll have their support, at least for the first part of this fight."_

"Wait, what happened to them?" Kongou demanded to know.

" _Like I said, they ran into some problems. Don't worry about that for now. Focus on your own orders."_

Umi's tone made it clear that there was no room for argument, so although uneasy, the ship girls in the heavy fleet were forced to continue their charge. Soon enough, they were again joined by escorting planes, now from a Japanese carrier, but this time the ship girls were noticeably less excited to see them.

They were getting closer to the enemy fleet, and the Abyssal shells were becoming harder to dodge. Unlike traditional battleship warfare, Fleet Admiral Umi's plan for the ship girls was to attack and engage the enemy at close range. Up close, the ship girls could fire their heavy, devastating shells more accurately, and they could also use their great strength to engage the Abyssals in CQC if needed. Also, since the plan was to scatter and disorient the Abyssal fleet, this was much more easily achieved from a close-range, fast attack as opposed to a far away, distant, disconnected shelling barrage.

"Everyone, remember to stick to the formation!" Yamato called out. "If we maintain a cohesive structure, they won't be able to break us!"

After the flagship's words, the ship girl fleet collided with the Abyssals, almost literally. Yamato opened fire first, her huge guns sending shockwaves across the ocean. Bismarck watched the Japanese ship girl with a mesmerized look. Though the recoil from Yamato's guns must have been enormous, the flagship easily maintained her balance with her strong legs. Her shells struck true, one of them hitting a Ru-class in the torso and turning her into a mess of a cyan blood and gore. Another one missed but still managed to land next to a Ta-class, completely dazing the Abyssal in a burst of water. As the Ta-class wobbled about with a lost look in her eye, Bismarck took aim and fired, hitting the Ta-class in the neck. The shell didn't explode for some reason, but it definitely broke the Ta-class' neck, and the Abyssal slumped over and began sinking.

"Great shot, Bismarck!" Prinz Eugen cheered.

Bismarck smirked proudly, and she also felt a sense of deep satisfaction. After witnessing the scene earlier, she wouldn't hold back today.

The fleet continued to fight like that for some time, and sure enough, the Abyssals were being pushed back. However, when Bismarck was in the middle of reloading and preparing to fire again, she felt something grab her leg. Looking down with surprise, she saw a So-class submarine latching onto her calf, a dead, unsettling look in its only visible eye.

"You dare touch me!?" Bismarck raged as she desperately tried to free her leg. Unfortunately, her jerking only made her lose her balance, and the Abyssal pulled her down, causing her to inadvertently inhale a gulp of seawater.

The battleship's fall alerted Max and Lebe, who immediately turned back towards Bismarck. Thinking quickly, Max tossed a depth charge down below and nearby the Abyssal while Lebe rushed over to Bismarck and tried to pull her out. A second later, the depth charge exploded, pushing Bismarck and Lebe backwards but crippling the So-class. Cyan blood clouded the water for a moment as the So-class sunk out of view.

"Are you all right, Bismarck? Did the explosion hurt you?" Max asked, sailing over to the two.

"Ugh… I'm fine…" Bismarck gingerly stood up. Apart from being shaken up, she appeared to have no injuries.

"Submarines spotted!" Nagato then called out, evidently having seen one as well. "Escorts, shift your focus to hunting those subs!"

"God damn, these things are annoying!" Musashi complained as she reached down and simply plucked a Ka-class out of the water. She then proceeded to snap its neck like a twig and toss its corpse back into the ocean.

The destroyers and light cruisers soon took over the submarine slaughter, allowing the battleships and heavy cruisers to focus on shelling the enemy fleet. Even so, Bismarck occasionally had to sail away from a torpedo trailing through the water due to the sheer volume of submarines that the Abyssals were fielding. Still, the battle seemed to be going well, and even with the addition of enemy submarines, the ship girls had the upper hand.

However, that soon changed.

"Shit! Looks like an enemy air strike incoming!" Iowa called out.

Bismarck looked up at the sky, and sure enough, a large force of Abyssal planes were soaring towards their location. The Abyssal planes were being harassed by ship girl aircraft, but the ship girl planes were overwhelmingly outnumbered. The Japanese-piloted F-35s moved to assist, but again, they were destroyed in even less time than the previous air squadron was. A few F-35s actually just turned and flew away from the battlefield, but Bismarck could hardly blame them.

"What's with those planes? There's so few of them," Yamashiro asked as she glanced up at the ship girl aircraft that were trying (and failing) to stop the Abyssal planes.

"Admiral, there is a large enemy air force approaching our position. We don't have adequate air cover," Yamato cautioned Umi.

" _Aren't there ship girl planes covering you?"_ Umi asked.

"Yes, but they're not nearly enough…"

" _Figures… Those planes are from Fleet Admiral Miiro's light carrier force, so they won't be much help after all against an entire Abyssal carrier fleet."_

"An entire carrier fleet?" Musashi repeated in disbelief. "What the hell are our standard carriers doing? Were they seriously defeated without damaging the enemy at all?!"

Bismarck felt her heart rate increase. _No, that isn't possible. There's no way Admiral Drake would lose so easily!_

" _Actually, the standard carriers are engaged fighting two Princesses, and they lost almost all of their planes in their initial airstrike. That's why I said they won't be of much help to us now,"_ Umi explained. " _The cause of that was the deployment of Abyssal anti-air Princesses in locations we didn't expect. Anyway, those anti-air Princesses are now positioned in between the light carriers and you girls, so any planes that the light carriers send over have to run that gauntlet before they can even begin to take on the numerically-superior Abyssal carriers."_

"So in other words, the enemy has overwhelming air superiority," Ise sighed.

" _Unfortunately. But that doesn't mean we've lost! You girls are doing great so far! Just make sure to use your anti-air fire. Yamato, let me know if things get too bad. Otherwise, continue on."_

That was easier said than done. The battleships and heavy cruisers were already engaged in shelling and fighting the Abyssal surface fleet, and the destroyers and light cruisers were busy with the submarines. Coordinating a good anti-air attack was almost impossible in this scenario.

Nevertheless, the battle raged on. Things continued as usual with the ship girls winning until the enemy air strike arrived. Then, as the bombs began raining down on them, the ship girls were forced to maneuver away from them, but with the enemy surface force firing back in addition to the torpedo and dive bombers, it was extremely difficult to avoid being hit by something.

Bismarck tried to stick together with her German comrades, but Lebe and Max were off chasing submarines. Prinz Eugen stayed with her, but the two of them didn't have enough anti-air fire to put off enemy planes.

"Aaah!" Prinz Eugen screamed as a dive bomber caught her in the back as she was trying to swerve away from some torpedoes. She stumbled, almost faceplanting onto the surface of the ocean.

"Prinz!" Bismarck whirled around to help her up. The heavy cruiser's back was scorched, her clothing ripped and the raw, red skin peeling off. Her portside guns were also bent out of shape, rendering them useless.

"Hah… I'm all right," Prinz Eugen wheezed as she clutched Bismarck's arm for support.

"Can you stand?" Bismarck asked, trying to steady her.

" _J-Ja,_ just give me a minute…"

"Watch out, you two!"

Bismarck didn't know who called out to her, but it was too late anyway. A shell was heading straight towards them, but neither one had been paying attention due to Prinz Eugen's injury. Bismarck clutched Prinz Eugen, trying to shield her already-damaged comrade from another direct hit.

"Ggh!" Bismarck grunted as she screwed her eyes shut in pain. The shell hit her squarely in the back, but luckily didn't explode. Still, the force of it almost knocked her over and definitely left a bruise.

"Bismarck! Are you all right?" Prinz yelled with worry, regaining some of her vigor after seeing Bismarck get hit with the shell.

"Yeah, this is nothing," Bismarck smiled. "Anyway, let's be more vigilant. This battlefield is only getting worse…"

As the heavy fleet tried to dodge the numerous aircraft and shells, they realized that the enemy surface force was slowly closing in and surrounding them. Though the ship girls had initially scattered the Abyssal formation, the enemy no longer appeared to be in a state of chaos.

"Heh. I see it now," Iowa, who had somehow ended up next to Bismarck and Prinz, said.

"See what?" Bismarck frowned, then did a double take when she saw that Iowa's right arm had been blown off from below the elbow. Dark blood slowly dripped from the gaping wound and into the water.

"Their plan, of course," Iowa continued with a bitter smile, apparently not too bothered by her missing forearm. "The Abyssals let us enter into the midst of their formation just so they could surround and trap us later. First they distracted us by making us think we were dispersing them and by introducing submarines, and then they added aircraft to the mix. We were so distracted by the subs and the airpower that we didn't realize that the Abyssal surface force was moving around to encircle us and trap us."

"So you're saying the Abyssals allowed us to cut through their line on purpose?" Bismarck summarized. "But that's reckless. We sunk so many of their ships."

"And? What does it matter if they just end up sinking all of us in the end anyway?" Iowa replied. "The Abyssals don't care about losses like we do. They allowed us to penetrate their formation even though they knew that their frontlines would essentially be offered up as sacrifices, and they also threw away a ton of their subs just to distract our destroyers and light cruisers from anti-air duty. The Abyssals don't care about their own losses as long as they can inflict more on their enemy."

"S-so then what do we do now?" Prinz Eugen asked, not liking the way things were going.

Iowa shrugged. "Who knows. Try not to die, I guess? Our best bet is to fight our way out and retreat. They're surrounding us, and they'll just encircle and exterminate us at this rate."

"How did they get us so easily…" Bismarck muttered angrily.

"If we had air cover, things would be different. But no use in complaining! Let's fight on, ya Nazis!" Iowa shot them a grin before charging back into the fray.

Soon afterwards, things only became even more frantic. Bismarck sailed through the congested waters as smoke, screaming, and the sound of explosions filled the air. The whistling of shells and the hum of Abyssal jets kept her on edge, and her blonde hair whipped in the wind as she desperately tried to keep track of her surroundings with all the dangers around her.

"Someone! Someone help my sister!" Bismarck heard Yamashiro scream in despair, and she briefly turned and glimpsed Yamashiro hugging Fusou's bloody form. The older sister's eyes were closed, and her body was limp as it dangled from Yamashiro's arms.

Bismarck was forced away from the scene as a dive bomber narrowly missed her, and she soon lost the two Fusou-class battleships in the din of battle. She passed many more harrowing scenes, but for the most part, the battle was too chaotic and disorganized for her to cut through the vast number of enemies to help her comrades. She saw the normally-dignified Warspite scowling with bloodlust as she stomped on the head of a submarine, and Kongou was nearby coughing up blood as she leaned on Warspite's rigging and held a hand to her bleeding stomach.

" _Fleet! Try and cut out an escape path behind you! All of you, concentrate your firepower in one position! Yamato, coordinate the attack!"_

Despite Fleet Admiral Umi's order, Bismarck did not hear or see the massive IJN battleship executing it. Looking around her, she realized that many of the other ship girls were also too busy to mount a coordinated attack. Their initial goal had been to force the Abyssals into disarray, but it seemed that they were experiencing that themselves instead.

"Prinz, let's try and do as she says! Follow me!" Bismarck called out and turned around to try and retreat, but when she did, she did not see Prinz Eugen anywhere.

A brief sensation of cold horror gripped her as she thought Prinz Eugen had sunk without her noticing, but thankfully she heard Prinz's voice shortly after.

"Bismarck! Over here!" Prinz Eugen called out, waving her arm in the air.

She had somehow drifted a fair bit away from Bismarck, and now there was a wall of fire, wrecks, and fighting ship girls and Abyssals in between them, separating the two. Prinz was not alone, though: Iowa was there with her, and the American battleship was choking out a Ri-class with her one good arm, her bicep flexing as she grit her teeth and the Ri-class gasped for air. Max and Lebe were also with Prinz Eugen, and they faithfully guarded the injured heavy cruiser as they fired off their guns in quick succession at the many enemies that were around.

Bismarck decided to make her way back towards them. She fired her guns and blew off the head of a Ne-class that was in her way, but before she could sail through the opening, something zoomed past her head and dove into the water in front of her. A trail of blue energy had followed the object, and Bismarck blinked as she wondered what the hell that was. A second later, the object reemerged from the water and shot straight towards her face. Bismarck briefly glimpsed a shape which appeared to be black stingray, and as the thing flew towards her, she reached out and grabbed it before it could hit her in the face. The black metallic stingray thrashed in her hand and began glowing a cyan color, and Bismarck felt her hand begin to sting. Wincing in pain, she chucked the thing away and watched it fly behind her.

The German battleship turned to follow the flying stingray, and her blue eyes widened as she saw it return to its owner, who was a large Abyssal with white hair and sharp eyes who appeared to be riding some sort of water motorcycle. Another flying stingray floated around the Abyssal, and the two creatures circled around the Abyssal as her eyes shined with sinister cyan energy. Bismarck had seen rough sketches of this figure before during strategy meetings.

 _The European Princess…!_

* * *

" _Kaga! Are you all right?"_

The aircraft carrier in question shifted her attention away from the approaching Princesses when she heard Houshou's voice sound in her ear. Each flagship and admiral had their own specific frequency on the communication devices where they could be privately contacted, but Kaga had not actually thought that she would put hers to any use. Nevertheless, it appeared Houshou was now speaking to her through that frequency.

"Houshou? What is it?" Kaga asked, taken a bit off-guard.

" _My fleet is being deployed to attack the Abyssal carrier fleet because we heard that your fleet ran into some Princesses. What's happening?"_

"It's nothing to worry about. We can defeat them," Kaga assured her in her usual calm tone.

" _Kaga… Now is not the time to wear that stoic mask of yours,"_ Houshou admonished. " _We all know how powerful the Princesses are. Don't take this lightly."_

Kaga's golden eyes darted back to the Princesses. "I know. I will be careful, but I don't want you worrying about us. You have your own battle to fight."

" _Yes, but… You know I can't help but worry."_

Even though the Princesses were still steadily approaching and a destructive battle was imminent, Houshou's words kindled a small feeling of warmth within Kaga. It was nice to have someone who cared, even if it got annoying sometimes.

"I am an aircraft carrier of the Imperial Japanese Navy, just like you are," Kaga said. "I will not fall here, and you won't either. Right?"

Houshou sighed. " _Right, I suppose. Take care of everyone, Kaga."_

The transmission then ended, which was good because the two Princesses were now well within striking range. However, neither Princess had launched any planes yet, and so the ship girls didn't sortie any either. Though the carriers, destroyers, and light cruisers far outnumbered the pair of Princesses, Kaga had a feeling that in terms of the firepower that each side could field, the Princesses definitely had the advantage.

"Some familiar faces here, I see," the Airfield Princess grinned as she and her partner sailed up closer to the ship girl fleet.

"What, you didn't get enough of a beating last time?" Hiryuu smirked at her.

"Oh? Considering the situation you're in, you're sure talking big," the Abyssal shot back.

"What situation? Can't you see you're heavily outnumbered?"

"Hmph. These numbers don't matter. What truly makes a difference is the quality of our airstrikes," the Aircraft Carrier Princess decided to chime in, her red eyes still staring straight at Kaga.

"I suppose we shall see about that soon enough," Kaga replied. "But why have you come so close? You could have attacked us from afar." _Though I guess ship girl aircraft carriers are more suited to short to medium range fighting than our warship selves were._

The Airfield Princess' grin grew wider. "Yes, but then you would have a better chance of escaping. Plus, we won't be able to witness the life fade from your eyes firsthand if we sunk you from too far away."

"Didn't you learn anything from your Submarine Princess? Overconfidence will get you killed," Akagi said.

"Overconfidence? Do you not realize how few planes you have left?" Aircraft Carrier Princess reminded them. "You face two aircraft carrier-type Abyssal Princesses. You would need your entire air fleet in order to stand a realistic chance against us."

"Shut the fuck up!" Zuikaku yelled, having had enough of the Abyssals' taunting. "Are you gonna keep talking shit, or are you actually going to fight? I'll send you idiots to the bottom where you belong!"

"Ahaha! As you wish, brat," Airfield Princess decided as the massive jaw attached to her rigging began to glow with red energy.

The Aircraft Carrier Princess carried around a similar large jaw on her rigging, but hers started burning with a slightly darker and rougher energy. Either way, it was clear that they were no longer in the mood for talking.

"Fleet, disperse! Avoid the trajectory of their jaws!" Kaga called out.

Luckily for the ship girls, the Abyssal Princesses appeared to be fairly immobile while they were charging up their jaws, and so they managed to get out of the way of the initial blasts. The Airfield Princess fired a large, rapid, clean laser of light red energy that the members of the _Kido Butai_ had seen before, but the Aircraft Carrier Princess' energy beam was more akin to that of a flamethrower, and huge tendrils of fire emerged from her beast's jaw. Since she was expecting a concentrated beam rather than a wide flame spread, Kaga was almost hit by the Aircraft Carrier Princess' attack. The corner of her sleeve by her elbow caught fire momentarily, but she managed to put it out. Still, she needed to be careful now that she realized the differences in the Abyssals' energy attacks.

 _We need to split up and deal with them. We're too disorganized right now,_ Kaga quickly decided. In any sort of fleet battle, disorganization could easily lead to the downfall of the fleet.

"Admiral, we've engaged the Princesses in battle," Kaga informed Drake through her earpiece, making sure to use her fleet's main channel so that everyone there could hear. "How should we attack? Should we split up the fleet?"

" _Yeah, that's probably best. If we can separate them and prevent them from working together, then we have a better chance of overwhelming them through physical numbers,"_ Drake replied. " _As for how the fleet should be split up… You and Shoukaku take on one of the Princesses, and bring all the escorts with you. Akagi, you're in charge of everybody else, and you fight the other Princess."_

"W-wait, me?" Akagi said as she held up a finger to her earpiece in order to speak through it.

"Admiral, if it's just me and Kaga, then we'll only have two aircraft carriers," Shoukaku added on.

" _Yeah, but you'll have all the anti-air power of the escort fleet. You two are also the most experienced and best carriers I have, and during training, you work really well together. There's a reason why the two of you are my flagships."_

Kaga and Shoukaku glanced at each other, and they found that their admiral's words were true. Without even noticing it, they had gradually become accustomed to leading the fleet, and thanks to all the time they spent working together in training and in Drake's office doing paperwork, they managed to coordinate pretty well. Kaga recalled how she and Shoukaku had wordlessly managed to take down a numerically-superior Abyssal fighter force earlier today when they were escaping from the anti-air trap, which showcased that they really did work well together.

"Understood, sir. We won't fail," Shoukaku then agreed.

" _All right. I'm kind of busy right now, so I've got to go. Let me know if anything comes up, though."_

"But he didn't answer my question…" Akagi complained quietly.

Kaga remained on guard as she watched the Princesses recharge and pull back a bit after their failed first shots. She sailed over to Akagi.

"Akagi. The Admiral said he chose Shoukaku and me for a reason. Don't you think there is a reason he chose you too?"

"Yeah, but… I think you both are better suited for this. I'm not a flagship."

Kaga turned to her. "When the Admiral first came to our base and appointed me flagship, I didn't know why I had been chosen, or how to even be a competent leader. Do you know who I used for inspiration? It was you. You were the first ever flagship of Japan's first ever carrier battle group. If it weren't for you, I doubt I would be half as good of a flagship."

Akagi blinked. She knew that she had been a flagship before, but now, that felt like a lifetime ago. She had just become so used to Kaga and Shoukaku leading the fleet that she didn't really see herself in that role anymore.

"And besides… We have always fought together in the First Carrier Division. There's no one I trust more than you, Akagi," Kaga continued, giving the red carrier a small but reassuring smile.

Akagi smiled as well. "Hm… I guess if both you and the Admiral are putting your faith in me, then I'll definitely win! Let's see who sinks her opponent first, okay?"

"Even if you're my partner, don't expect that I'm going to lose to you," Kaga smirked. "You take the Airfield Princess, then. We'll finish this Aircraft Carrier Princess."

The two carriers nodded to each other, then formed up their separate fleets. Kaga and Shoukaku gathered the escorts around them just in time to be fired at by the Aircraft Carrier Princess' flamethrower again. This time, however, the fleet was more prepared for the attack, and so they scattered out of its relatively short range before forming up again.

The Aircraft Carrier Princess frowned. "This is the first time I am using my Trident beam in live combat against ship girls… It appears it does not work very well unless you are distracted beforehand."

With that, the Aircraft Carrier Princess finally released her planes. They flew out of the same jaw that fired the flamethrower, and they were white, circular things with mouths lined with jagged teeth that almost seemed alive. Nevertheless, they flew through the sky like regular planes, and they certainly didn't appear any less dangerous.

"Escorts, concentrate anti-air fire on those planes," Kaga ordered. However, even as she said this, more white Abyssal aircraft spilled forth from the large black maw, almost completely blotting out the sun.

"So many…" Shoukaku observed nervously.

 _That's right, she wasn't there when we fought the Airfield Princess._ Kaga realized that the sight of so many aircraft launching from a single ship could be jarring to Shoukaku, so she quickly tried to think of a battle plan that would reassure her partner and her escorts.

"Shoukaku, launch all remaining planes except for your fighters," Kaga said. "Fly them at low altitude, like this."

Rapidly drawing an arrow and firing it, Kaga shot forward a flurry of planes. Instead of climbing to a cruising altitude, the planes simply stayed at the level they were first launched from, and they flew in circles around the two carriers.

"Um… But then our bombers won't be able to hit the enemy, and if we don't launch any fighters, then we'll just be leaving our planes defenseless and giving the Princess free reign of the skies," Shoukaku pointed out.

"Our fighters don't need to face hers. We're severely outnumbered in that regard anyway, and so it would be pointless for us to send them up there just to have them destroyed," Kaga countered. "Also, our torpedo bombers can actually still attack from this altitude, and as for our dive bombers, we will just have them utilize kamikaze tactics."

Shoukaku thought about it briefly before her eyes lit up. "Ah, I see. By keeping our bombers in low altitude, we can force the enemy's fighters to fly down to our level. And if the enemy's planes are lower in the sky, our anti-air fire will be more accurate."

Kaga gave her a nod. "Yes. Normally we rely on our fighters to shoot down the enemy's planes, but given our situation, we are outnumbered in terms of fighter power. What we _do_ still hold an advantage in is anti-air power, and this tactic basically makes anti-air power more important than fighter power because all the planes will be flying in low altitude."

"And then when we get the Princess to send her fighters down, we'll finally launch our own fighters and send them up to deal with the now-defenseless Abyssal bombers," Shoukaku added. "Okay, let's do it!"

The two flagships launched all their bombers, which didn't take them too long since they didn't have that many left. Either way, their remaining bombers were now soaring around the battlefield at a low altitude, most of them heading straight towards the Aircraft Carrier Princess.

"What…" the Aircraft Carrier Princess was caught off-guard by the sudden and unexpected appearance of low-flying planes.

The first couple ship girl aircraft dropped their torpedoes in the water, but the Princess managed to evade them just in time. However, the evasive maneuver put her right in the path of the next set of aircraft, which again surprised her by flying straight into her. With a cry of shock, the Aircraft Carrier Princess stumbled as the planes exploded and stung her with shrapnel. Such blows weren't enough to kill her, but the attacks nevertheless left burn marks and long, red scrapes on her exposed pale skin.

Kaga and Shoukaku looked at the scene with satisfaction. Once again, the two had coordinated perfectly, with Kaga's torpedo bombers providing the initial distraction while Shoukaku's dive bombers came in from another angle. They also saw that the Princess had begun ordering many of her fighters down to the level of the ship girl planes, which meant that their plan was working.

Sure enough, the escorts caught on to the plan as well, and they took advantage of the low-flying enemy planes, shooting them down with ease. Kaga and Shoukaku now put into action the second part of their plan, and they fired their arrows at an upward angle so that their fighters could get a good head start. The ship girl Zeroes soared up into the sky and tore apart many of the white Abyssal bombers from underneath them, and continued to cut further into their ranks as they climbed in altitude.

The Aircraft Carrier Princess was visibly frustrated at this turn of events. Though she had overwhelming air superiority, she had underestimated the ship girls' ability to coordinate themselves. Though she had a lot of planes, the ship girls still technically outnumbered her in terms of ships present on the battlefield, and that was actually making a difference now.

Her red eyes began glowing with ferocity. "You… You worthless shits!"

Flames erupted from her beast's jaw, engulfing the air around her and completely incinerating a couple ship girl bombers that were just about to drop their torpedoes in front of her. The Aircraft Carrier Princess sailed forward, charging straight at the ship girl fleet. The destroyers and light cruisers, who were in the vanguard, were busy with anti-air duty, so they were surprised to see the Princess suddenly come rushing at them.

"Oh shit, she's coming!" Murasame warned the rest of the fleet.

Amatsukaze grit her teeth as she swung around to face the Princess. "Damn it! Let's get some suppressing fire over here!"

She and Murasame switched from anti-air fire to their main cannons, and they fired into the path of the oncoming Aircraft Carrier Princess. Their shells hit and exploded upon the Princess, but to their disbelief, the Abyssal emerged from the smoke unhurt and apparently unimpeded.

"We need more firepower! Hurry!" Amatsukaze called out the rest of the escorts.

"We'll see how she likes this!" Yahagi said, throwing her arm towards the Abyssal as her bigger caliber guns fired in perfect unison. Unfortunately, she was met with the same result as the destroyers.

"Fuck! This isn't working!" Amatsukaze cursed. "We need to coordinate a synchronized volley, or else -"

The silver-haired destroyer did not get to finish her sentence. One of the circular white Abyssal planes dove down towards her at amazing speed and impacted into her back, exploding in a burst of red and orange energy. The direct hit completely destroyed Amatsukaze's rigging and knocked her unconscious. She fell face-first onto the water and began sinking, but Murasame quickly pulled her out and propped her up.

"What the hell?! Where'd that come from!" the Shiratsuyu-class destroyer yelled frustratedly as she slung Amatsukaze's arm around her shoulder.

Meanwhile, more and more escorts were trying to fire at the encroaching Princess, who kept on dodging or tanking their shots.

Yahagi looked up at the sky with a grim countenance. "It appears that the cessation of our anti-air fire has allowed the enemy fighters to return to the skies and protect their bombers, which in turn has allowed the Abyssal bombers to make their runs."

Kaga, who was closely observing things from the backlines, saw that the situation was beginning to deteriorate. She had come up with her battle plan in only a few minutes, so it wasn't surprising that she forgot something. In this case, it was the entry of the Aircraft Carrier Princess herself into the fight. Though the Princess was an aircraft carrier, she could still pose a serious threat in close combat, especially with that flamethrower of hers. There was really only one weapon left in Kaga's arsenal that could deal with this new threat.

"All escorts! Keep your focus on anti-air fire! Ignore the Princess!" Kaga yelled over the sounds of battle. She then turned to Shoukaku. "Let's go. We need to stop the Princess ourselves."

Shoukaku understood what she meant, and the two carriers exited the backlines and began sailing forward and past their escorts. The destroyers and light cruisers glanced at them as they sailed by, also figuring out that Kaga and Shoukaku meant to engage the Princess in CQC.

The Aircraft Carrier Princess noticed the two ship girls sailing towards her, and she stopped her charge towards the escorts to shift her focus on the carriers.

"So, you've come to face me yourselves?" the Abyssal smiled.

Kaga and Shoukaku stopped as well as they sized up their opponent. All three combatants were multitasking; though they were about to start throwing punches, they also had to keep track of and direct their aircraft. The winner of this fight would be the ones who could best take advantage of the three-dimensional nature of the battle.

"Well, then," the Aircraft Carrier Princess began, her beast's jaw burning with fire, "let's see who kisses the seafloor first."


	32. My Promise VIII

"Tch. Why'd she have to take that blue bitch away from me," Airfield Princess complained, throwing a dissatisfied glance in the direction of Kaga and the Aircraft Carrier Princess. "Eh, whatever. Guess I'll just finish up here quickly and then go over there and sink her."

"Don't you think you're being a little too cocky?" Akagi asked with a smirk. "There are thirteen of us against one of you. You may have more planes than we do, but we're ship girls, not warships. You're about to have the shit beaten out of you… Again."

The Airfield Princess made a show of yawning. "As if insignificant rats like you could ever pose a threat to me. Looks like I'll have to put you in your place after all."

The sinister, glowing red gaze of the Princess momentarily shook Akagi's resolve, but she then remembered Kaga's words to her.

 _That's right… Kaga is placing her trust in me… And so is the Admiral._

To be honest, Akagi was not a fan of Admiral Drake when she first met him. He seemed cold, too serious, and even slightly arrogant, and Akagi was still sore from being the flagship of the losing side in the most decisive battle in the Pacific Theater. However, after she had spent some time in his fleet, she recognized that he wasn't as bad as she had thought, especially because of Kaga. Ever since Drake had took over command of their fleet, Akagi had watched Kaga grow from a quiet, almost background character into a confident leader, and she had Admiral Drake to thank for that. Kaga was the type of person who only spoke when spoken to and who tended to avoid other people if possible, but when she was made flagship of the fleet, that changed. Now, Kaga had someone other than her adopted sister and adopted mother who acknowledged her strength, and just by Kaga's atmosphere when she was around the Admiral, Akagi could see that he was having a good effect on her.

 _For their sake… I will not lose!_

"You do have a plan, right? She looks sorta pissed off now…" Zuikaku whispered to Akagi, sailing up beside her.

"We'll figure something out," Akagi said.

"That's not very reassuring, but yeah, I guess you're not wrong," Zuikaku grinned. "There's no way I'm letting Kaga and Shoukaku show us up!"

"Akagi, be warned, it looks like the enemy is launching her planes," Graf Zeppelin cautioned.

Spilling out of the Airfield Princess' beast's jaw were a multitude of white, circular Abyssal aircraft with sharp teeth. Akagi wondered why the aircraft weren't taking off (or more like rolling off) from the runways built into the Airfield Princess' rigging, but she figured that those runways must mainly be for launching high-altitude, long-distance operations, like the raid the Airfield Princess did against their base.

" _Dio mio_ , those are a lot of planes," Aquila observed worriedly.

Saratoga looked up at the sky, her hand shielding her eyes from the sun. "I don't think we have nearly enough aircraft to counter that, even with all thirteen of us…"

"Well, we've still got anti-air fire, don't we?" Intrepid said. "No point in simply giving up."

Akagi joined the rest of the carriers in staring up at the sky, where Abyssal aircraft continued to climb upwards. The Airfield Princess appeared to be taking her time in organizing her air force, but it was evident that her planes far outnumbered theirs. Akagi could order all of the ship girls to send fighters up to counter the enemy air power, but she knew it would just result in all their planes being destroyed. There was no defeating this Princess in a straight air battle, not after they had already lost so many planes.

Frustrated, Akagi chose another approach. She drew an arrow from her quiver and strung her bow with it, her practiced hands going through the motions with speed and fluidity. Then, she aimed at the Airfield Princess and released it. The arrow shot through the air, not even bothering to transform into a plane. Surprised by the sudden attack, the Airfield Princess only barely managed to dodge it.

"The hell?" she wondered as the arrow whizzed past her head.

"Charge!" Akagi ordered, pointing towards the Abyssal. She then sped off, sailing straight for the enemy as she notched another arrow.

The rest of the carriers stared at her dumbly. It appeared insane at first. Their flagship had simply ignored the huge airstrike looming overhead, did not launch any of her own planes, and then just rushed the enemy head on. However, they soon recognized that Akagi was attempting to swarm the Airfield Princess with sheer numbers. Just like the Airfield Princess wanted to blot out the ship girls' air power with quantity, so could the ship girls smack down the Princess in CQC with their own superior numbers.

"All right! Let's do this!" Zuikaku shouted in excitement as she followed Akagi.

The remaining carriers shared worried looks before sailing after the two. They all had their weapons raised, and the sound of gunshots or arrows whizzing by filled the ocean air. Confronted with a wall of projectiles heading straight towards her, the Airfield Princess simply could not dodge them all, and she was pelted with arrows and bullets. Though the projectiles were stronger than their human-made counterparts, they were still not as powerful as planes, and so they only left minor cuts and scrapes on the Princess, but they did damage nonetheless.

"Augh! You fucking -"

The Airfield Princess' sentence was cut short as Akagi finally arrived within striking distance. The red carrier snarled at her opponent and reached out to grab her. The Airfield Princess, expecting a punch or a kick rather than a grab, failed to move properly, allowing Akagi to latch onto a fistful of white hair.

 _She's so heavy!_ Akagi realized. She had tried to do a throwing maneuver and toss the Abyssal onto the ground, but the weight of the Princess was more than she anticipated, causing her to merely tug the Princess forward a bit.

The Airfield Princess shrieked in pain and swung her hips to the right, smacking Akagi's legs with the tips of her airstrips and tripping her. Akagi lost her balance and splashed onto the surface of the sea, but Zuikaku's arrival allowed her enough time to get to her feet again. The twintailed carrier took a different approach, grabbing an arrow out of her quiver and manually stabbing it at the Abyssal.

Whether by luck or by skill, Zuikaku managed to drive her arrow right into the eye of the Airfield Princess. The Abyssal screamed again, this time much more shrilly, panic painting her tone. Bright, glowing red blood burst outward from the wound, and Zuikaku roared as she jerked her arrow back, completely tearing out the Abyssal's eyeball. Still screaming, the Airfield Princess' beast jaw began glowing red, prompting Zuikaku to sail out of its reach. The other carriers noticed this as well and moved out if its direct path.

Unfortunately, that was not all they had to deal with. Zuikaku's devastating blow had caused the Airfield Princess' planes to stop forming up, and the Princess instead just had them rain down upon the ship girl fleet, however haphazardly the attack was. Though normally an uncoordinated bombing run would be easy for the anti-air gunners and opposition fighter planes to control, the sheer number of Abyssal bombers in the sky made it nearly impossible to avoid being hit. The white dive bombers fell like rain, and the torpedo bombers and fighters also flew downwards, shooting at the ship girls with red bullets and torpedoes.

"Fuck! There's too many!" Intrepid cursed as she raised her rifle in front of her face, allowing the weapon to tank a hit from a dive bomber.

"Ngh! I've been hit," Graf Zeppelin groaned, clutching at her shoulder which was doused in red and was quickly staining the rest of her uniform.

Amagi simply went flying, crying out as a torpedo exploded beneath her and tossed her about on the surface of the ocean like a skipping stone. Her sister, Unryuu, tried to make her way over to Amagi's unconscious form, but two dive bombers hit her from both sides, a flurry of smoke obscuring her as she then fell onto the water's surface and began slowly sinking.

"Zuikaku, go pull Amagi out! Graf, make sure Unryuu doesn't sink!" Akagi called out.

Zuikaku, who was uninjured and the closest, sped off immediately. Graf Zeppelin winced as she dragged Unryuu out of the water with her good arm. The white-haired carrier was also either unconscious or dead, and black soot and dark burn marks covered her body. She at least had not sunk, so it would be possible to revive her if they got out of the area in time… Though by the way things were going, that might not be a possibility.

Akagi turned to the Airfield Princess, who was scowling as she clutched her eye socket.

"You bitch…" Akagi growled predatorily.

However, before she could rush the Princess again, a torpedo bomber suddenly dropped out of the sky and in front of her. Akagi's anti-air guns shot it down fairly quickly, but not before it dropped its torpedo spread into the water only a very short distance away from her. The only thing Akagi could do at that point was try and jump over it, which she actually managed to do. But when she was in midair, leaping over the projectile and watching it pass under her, she felt something heavy hit her in the gut and then explode, and she flew backwards. Her back slammed on the surface of the ocean, and she hacked up blood as she tried to orient herself. She attempted to sit up, but her abdominal muscles protested so severely that she instead just looked down at her stomach, which had nearly been blown open. Frowning deeply, her golden eyes trailed back over to the Airfield Princess, who was smirking victoriously. The large cannon atop her beast's jaw was smoking, indicating it had recently been fired.

 _How careless of me,_ Akagi thought, grimacing in pain. She was still floating on her back so she wasn't in any danger of sinking yet, but it was only a matter of time before a plane or something dropped a bomb on her and finished her for good.

Two firm hands lifted Akagi from her armpits, uprighting the damaged carrier and supporting her as she stood. Akagi bit her lip as her stomach wound cried out at the action, and she turned her head a bit to see Souryuu behind her.

"Can you stand?" Souryuu asked.

"Y-yeah, I think so," Akagi managed, her legs wobbling slightly as Souryuu let go of her.

Hiryuu then sailed over. "Akagi, I sent Graf Zeppelin and Katsuragi back with the bodies of Unryuu and Amagi. None of them is in any shape to fight, so I hope that's all right with you."

"Uh, yes, that's fine," Akagi said. Souryuu was focused on anti-air fire, but she was still nearby.

"Zuikaku is rallying the remaining carriers for an anti-air attack, and all of us except for you have launched our last planes," Hiryuu continued. "It should thin out the ranks of the Princess' air force, but it's not going to make a significant difference. We need to take her out for good, and we need to do it now."

"You mean in close combat?"

Hiryuu nodded. "Zuikaku was able to severely damage her earlier with CQC, and we also beat her last time with CQC. It's probably our best chance. I'd say you, Souryuu, and I go, but if you can't because of your injury, then we'll go ourselves."

"No. I'll go," Akagi assured them firmly.

Despite her wounded state, she was still entrusted with the flagship position for this battle. She would not be left out of the fight.

* * *

"Rear Admiral."

Drake turned away from the radar screen to see Lieutenant Commander Longfellow, her expression sullen.

"We've received reports that USS _Oliver Wolcott_ has been sunk," she informed him.

"Another one?"

That was the second _Signature_ -class destroyer that had been lost so far in the fight. In addition to that, Germany had also lost a destroyer, Japan had lost a heavy cruiser, Russia had lost all three of its light cruisers present, and a Chinese battleship had to turn back and leave the fight due to taking too much damage. All in all, the human fleet was taking far more losses than initially predicted. Apparently the ship girl charge into the center of the Abyssal formation had failed, and so the Abyssals were able to start shelling the human fleet and even approach their frontlines. Luckily Drake was still in the back with the rest of the aircraft carriers, but it was only a matter of time before the Abyssals broke through.

About a half hour earlier, the USS _John Adams_ had sunk with all hands, meaning that Vice Admiral Eliot, who had been in command of the American destroyers and had been using that vessel as his flagship, was now dead. With no commander left to lead them, the destroyers had just been told to report to Drake as their new commanding officer. Drake guessed that he had been chosen because his own carrier fleet was essentially toothless now, which meant that he had nothing left to do. Drake was annoyed by this decision because his ship girls still needed someone to lead them even if they were mostly just caught up holding off the Princesses, but he couldn't just tell high command to fuck off, so now he was stuck with both jobs.

Drake went back to studying the radar screen. Human-made destroyers were big enough to reliably make out on the radar even from this distance, so he was able to see their movements. He could not, however, see the Abyssals very well, but thankfully the camera feed from the destroyers provided him with that view, which was pulled up on another screen beside the radar.

"Why aren't our Tomahawks doing anything?" Drake asked Longfellow, though he was pretty sure he already knew the answer to that.

"I don't know. It looks like the Abyssals are either avoiding them or shooting them down," Longfellow replied, her eyes slowly being filled with hopelessness. "W-what are we supposed to do, sir? They're all going to die out there…"

"Well, we can't pull them back because then that would just allow the Abyssals to come even closer, which would result in all of us, including those of us on these carriers, being sunk," he said, rubbing his chin in thought.

"Maybe we should assist them? As in, send out planes from our carrier?" Longfellow suggested.

Drake spared a glance at her. Her soft brown hair and clear green eyes gave her an innocent look. _Damn, the navy is really picking some young officers… Though I guess I'm not that much older than she is._

He turned his dark eyes back to the radar. "I have no control over the flight operations of this carrier, so I can't do that. It also probably wouldn't help much, if the reports from other carrier pilots in this battle are to be believed."

Truly, there was no hope of defeating the Abyssal fleet with just a handful of American destroyers. Though it appeared that only a small group of Abyssal battleships or heavy cruisers were engaged in shelling the destroyers, in order to get to them and eliminate them, Drake would have to send the ships right into the main Abyssal force, which would result in their certain destruction. The only thing he could do right now was minimize the chance for casualties. He stepped over to the microphone near the command center and switched to the US destroyer fleet frequency.

"This is Rear Admiral Richard Drake speaking. _Samuel Adams_ , take the lead ship position. All other ships, line up behind her."

" _... A line ahead formation, sir?"_ one of the destroyer officers asked.

"Yes. Sail towards the Abyssal fleet for five minutes."

Drake was sure this order perplexed the destroyer commanders, and he could also see a puzzled look on Longfellow's face. Nevertheless, the destroyers took their positions and executed the command, beginning to sail in a straight line towards the Abyssals. Drake was sure that the Abyssals were still firing upon the destroyers during this time, but the sudden and strange change in formation and direction definitely threw them off, and during the five minutes, Drake did not receive any report of confirmed hits by the enemy.

"Get me a pen and paper," Drake said to Longfellow, who hurriedly complied.

With occasional glances at the radar screen, Drake began scribbling various coordinates and bearings on the paper. Then, he went back to the speakerphone, holding up the paper and reading off it as he issued new commands.

"All right, all ships are now to turn back. _Samuel Adams, John Hancock, Robert Paine,_ and _Elbridge Gerry_ are to turn to port, and _Samuel Huntington, Roger Sherman,_ and _William Williams_ are to turn to starboard. Each ship, follow the specific bearings I am about to give you. They are as following…"

Drake read of a series of bearings specific to each ship. He looked up at the radar screen to see if the ships were following his orders. Each destroyer was now turning away from the Abyssals and heading backwards, but they had scattered and were all following different routes back. This sudden change from an organized, straight forward line to a bunch of ships all going backwards in various directions was designed to throw off the Abyssals even more.

"All ships' end points are in Sector Four. When you return there, _Samuel Adams_ will retake the lead ship position, and you will repeat the maneuver. Radio in if you need a refreshing on the bearings. Other than that, continue with your orders until directed otherwise."

Drake sighed as he sat down in the chair at the station. He regarded the radar screen with apprehension.

 _I've bought them some time… But for how long?_

* * *

"How is the retreat going?" Yamato asked Musashi as she reloaded her huge cannons.

Musashi glanced over her shoulder, where she was greeted with the unfortunate sight of a mass of bodies, rigging, fire, and churning waves. Sounds of shouting and guns firing filled the air, and it was basically impossible to keep track of the fleet as a whole anymore.

Musashi said as much to her sister. "Who knows? I can't see shit from here. My guess is that it's not going very well at all, though."

Yamato's long ponytail whipped in the wind. She frowned. "We have to find some kind of opening…"

"Easier said than done," Iowa interjected as she sailed up to the two superbattleships. Prinz Eugen and the German destroyers were still following her.

"What are _you_ doing here?" Musashi asked with a dissatisfied tone.

"Eh? I just happened to sail over here," Iowa grinned, oblivious to Musashi's disapproving look. "Anyway, have you guys seen Bismarck? We kind of lost her in the battle."

"Bismarck? I'm afraid not," Yamato answered. "And what happened to your arm?"

Iowa glanced at her blown off appendage. "Oh, this? Just another battle scar, I guess! I can still fight, though."

"Well, since you're here, we might as well use you," Musashi began. "We're going to try and punch a hole in their fleet to the south so that we can retreat. If all three of us fire at the same time, then it should be enough to create a momentary gap."

"But we haven't found Bismarck yet!" Prinz Eugen yelled, but she quickly cringed and shrunk back when the three battleships turned their gazes to her.

"She's a big girl, I'm sure she'll be all right," Iowa waved the German cruiser off. "Anyway, where are we shootin', then?"

Yamato turned around to survey the battlefield, looking for a possible exit. "Hm… Maybe -"

"Watch out!"

Yamato whirled around at the warning from her sister, just in time to see an accurate volley of battleship-caliber shells heading straight towards her face. Her pale purple eyes widened in fear.

However, Yamato was saved when Musashi rushed to her rescue. The white-haired battleship roared ferociously as she punched one of the the projectiles, attempting to divert its trajectory. Unfortunately for her, the shell exploded, as did a few of the others that landed around her. When the smoke cleared, Musashi was still standing, but she was panting heavily and was now missing an arm. Blood slowly poured from her shoulder, staining the surface of the water.

"Musashi!" Yamato sailed over to her younger sister with a worried look.

"I… I'm fine, Yamato," Musashi said, her voice laced with pain.

"Hey! You trying to outdo me or something?" Iowa called out, waving her stump at Musashi.

"Oh, shut up, will you…" Musashi shot back, though she was becoming noticeably quieter.

Yamato grit her teeth. _It's because of me that this happened…_

Lebe then gasped. " _Mein gott!_ Is that…"

The other ship girls all turned to look at where she was pointing, and they saw none other than the Battleship Princess in the distance. She was sailing slowly towards the ship girl fleet, and she exuded a sinister confidence as the sea breeze tugged at her dark clothes and hair. Her firm, violent red eyes punctured a momentary spike of fear even in the three battleships.

"Iowa… Take Musashi and the other girls and get out of here," Yamato said, her eyes fixed on the Princess. "Try and find an opening to retreat with the rest of the fleet as well."

"Wait, what? You can't be thinking that you're going to fight her alone," Iowa protested.

"Don't be an idiot, Yamato," Musashi agreed, "we have to help -"

Her words were interrupted when she winced in pain, undermining her point.

"You're both in no shape to fight a Princess," Yamato decided. "As flagship, I order you to retreat. Go now."

"But… I can't just leave you here to die," Iowa said.

Yamato smiled at her. "Oh, don't worry, I have no intention of dying here. I may not have shown it during the War, but I am Yamato, Japan's greatest battleship. I'm not going to lose to the likes of her."

"If you say so. But you better not die here! You and I haven't had our spar yet."

"Then I'll look forward to it," Yamato replied.

Iowa gave her a final nod before taking Musashi, who had become to weak to speak, with her good arm and sailing away. Prinz Eugen and the destroyers followed, shooting a worried glance at Yamato as they left.

Yamato now focused her full attention on the Battleship Princess. With a determined expression, she began sailing towards the Abyssal.

 _I need to get close to her so that she doesn't have a chance to shell our fleet from a long distance._

The Battleship Princess slowed when she noticed Yamato approaching. "You're pretty brave, sailing right up to me like that. I presume you're the Yamato-class?"

Yamato nodded. "I am Yamato, the lead ship and flagship of this operation. You are the Battleship Princess, or Dyson?"

The Battleship Princess raised an eyebrow. "Dyson? That's just a dumb nickname my comrades call me. I'd prefer you not use that."

"Very well, then. But what I call you soon will not matter," Yamato stated.

The Battleship Princess smiled, exposing sharp, dangerous teeth. "I suppose so."

* * *

The European Princess continued to stare at Bismarck. Her icy eyes were glowing with strange energy, and behind her, a tail which appeared to resemble a dolphin's but with guns attached waved about dangerously. The two synthetic stingray-like creatures hovered around her, slowly swimming through the air as if they were underwater.

Bismarck swallowed nervously. For all her talk yesterday, now that she was actually alone with an Abyssal Princess, she didn't feel so confident. To her chagrin, she found herself wishing that Admiral Drake or one of her fleetmates were there to help her. Even Prinz Eugen and the two German destroyers were nowhere to be seen.

"You would face me alone?" the Abyssal spoke. Her voice was calm but resonated with an echoing tone, sort of like the sound of sonar. She spoke in English and also seemed to have a slight British accent.

"... I don't need any help to defeat the likes of you," Bismarck retorted, trying to appear confident even though she felt anything but. It wasn't as if she could just magically summon allies to her location anyway.

The European Princess did not seem offended by the comment, only confused. "Very well."

Without any further ado, the Princess launched one of her stingrays towards Bismarck again. Bismarck tried to dodge, but almost simultaneously when she launched the stingray, the Princess had also fired the guns that were attached to the vehicle she seemed to be riding. Bismarck was able to slide past the stingray but failed to dodge the guns. As searing pain tore through her left side, the second stingray came rushing at her, slamming into her chest and sending her onto the surface of the ocean.

Bismarck groaned in pain and felt the ocean water sting the open wound on her side. She slowly tried to get up, but as she was rising to her feet, the European Princess came rushing at her with surprising speed, her motorcycle-like rigging slicing through the waves. The Abyssal smashed the front of her vehicle into Bismarck, throwing the German a good distance away.

Bismarck slammed onto the water and tried to stand up more quickly this time, though the pain made that very hard. _Ugh… Her fighting style is so fast!_

When Bismarck glanced back at the Princess, she noticed that the Abyssal was now wielding a thin, black sword.

 _What the… Where did she get that from?!_

Bismarck scowled and aimed her cannons. It was about time that she fought back. However, the two stingrays were still buzzing annoyingly around her. She tried to angle her Flakvierling anti-air gun to shoot them down, but one of them suddenly dove down towards her and whipped her with its tail. She hissed in pain as the blow stung a bit. She then tried to grab onto the creature, but she found that her body was paralyzed. With a horrified expression, Bismarck switched her gaze back to the European Princess, who was now rushing her with the sword.

 _No… No! I can't move!_

Bismarck desperately tried to get her body to sail out of the way, or else she would end up impaled on the end of the Abyssal's blade. Luckily, she felt some feeling begin to return to her limbs. She was able to move her body just enough to place her guns in the Abyssal's path. The European Princess noticed this and quickly changed her course, abandoning the attack. Bismarck's shots sailed wide, but she had at least avoided an unpleasant death.

 _So it looks like I'll be paralyzed for some time if I get hit with the tails on those things,_ Bismarck deduced, warily regarding the stingrays. _They also seem very slow, but they can move in quick bursts from short range. I'll have to keep my distance._

Now, Bismarck had to keep track of the two stingrays as well as the fast-moving European Princess. Though the stingrays didn't do much physical damage, if she were hit by them at an inopportune time, that could be the end for her.

The European Princess fired her guns again, but Bismarck easily avoided them this time. However, she forget about the tail, and the Abyssal's long appendage came in from a different angle to fire at her. Bismarck raised her arm to shield herself. The shots exploded as they made contact with her, and they tore open the clothing and skin on her arm, burnt, charred flesh giving way to bone.

Tears welled up in the corners of Bismarck's eyes as she grit her teeth and fought through the pain. _No, I can't dwell on any injury!_

The throbbing in her side still continued, and she could feel warm blood leaking out from that wound as well. To make things worse, Bismarck had yet to land a single shot on the enemy. She was losing this fight, and she was losing it badly.

 _At this rate, I'll be killed for certain,_ she realized. She hated to admit it, but she was no match for a Princess alone. She would need to find an opening and then escape.

That seemed to be a very difficult thing to do, though. The European Princess fired up her engines once again and rushed towards Bismarck with alarming speed. The fastest ship in her fleet was Amatsukaze, and though the European Princess didn't quite match up to the destroyer's speed, she was close. Either way, it was too fast for Bismarck to outspeed, and so her only choice was to fight back. Bismarck aimed her guns at the Abyssal and fired, expecting the Princess to once again swerve out of the way. To her surprise, the Abyssal instead tanked the hits and continued onward. Though the Abyssal didn't lose any speed, the hits did have an effect, and the explosions actually caused a burst of light blue blood and mauled one of the mounted guns on the vehicle.

Despite the good hit, it soon became clear to Bismarck why the Abyssal didn't dodge the shots. Apparently the European Princess had decided that taking damage from the shells was worth it if she got to skewer Bismarck in the end, and she sailed towards the German with her sword poised for a stabbing strike. At this point it was far too late for Bismarck to evade, and so she figured that she would just have to deflect the hit somehow.

Raising her blade, the European Princess thrusted forward. Bismarck countered by lifting her good arm in front of her face, and with impressive reaction skill, she deflected the Abyssal's sword using the metal brace around her wrist. The sword strike cracked the brace, but it had served its purpose. The deflection momentarily stunned the Princess, and Bismarck took advantage of this by firing her AA gun in the Abyssal's face. That stunned the European Princess even more, so Bismarck used the opportunity to grab onto the Abyssal's sword arm. With an angry cry, Bismarck used her battleship strength to twist and snap the Princess' arm. Grunting in pain, the Princess was forced to drop her sword, which sunk into the water. However, Bismarck's victory was short-lived as the Abyssal's tail suddenly swung around and smashed into Bismarck's injured port side, once again sending her flying.

The blonde battleship had a rough landing as her rigging and body got beat up by the force at which she impacted the waves. She floated on her back, moaning in pain as her side resonated with pain. The saltwater also did not help in easing her agony, and the longer she lay there, the more it stung. Bismarck screwed her eyes shut with exertion as she got to her feet, and she felt a sweat begin to break out. The longer the fight dragged on, the more damage her body was taking. Soon, she figured she would probably collapse from pain or exertion.

 _Damn it… Even the Re-class I fought is nothing compared to this monster,_ Bismarck thought, glancing at the European Princess who had now regained her neutral expression.

The Princess' cool stare remained fixed on Bismarck. Then, her tail curled up over her head and pointed its guns in Bismarck's direction. Bismarck prepared to dodge again, but she felt a sharp, stinging pain and then froze.

… _I forgot about those stingray things!_

Bismarck's body tensed up, and her legs refused to move. Meanwhile, the European Princess' guns were primed for the coup de grace.

 _I'm going to die here?_ Bismarck almost refused to believe it. Hot tears unwelcomingly rushed to her eyes, and her throat tightened. _No… It's not fair! Why me?_

The whistling sound of shells flying through the air reached Bismarck's ears, but surprisingly, they had not come from the European Princess. Instead, the shells were heading in the opposite direction, and the Princess was forced to give up her attack and sail out of the way of the projectiles which were aimed towards her.

Finally regaining her mobility, Bismarck turned to see who had come to her aid. Her blue eyes widened with recognition as she saw Haruna sail over. The Kongou-class battleship looked a bit roughed up and bloodied, but all in all, she was in much better shape than Bismarck.

"Bismarck! I've finally found you," Haruna smiled warmly. After what Bismarck had been through, seeing a friendly face was an enormous blessing.

"H-haruna?" was all Bismarck managed. Her voice was still shaky from her near-death experience.

"It's all right. Haruna is here now," the Japanese ship girl assured Bismarck. She then fixed her gaze on the European Princess. "So you've been fighting a Princess by yourself… No wonder you've taken so much damage."

"Yeah. She's tough," Bismarck said. "Also, watch out for those flying things. They will paralyze you if they touch you."

"I see. So those are her beasts." Haruna's eyes followed the slow path of the stingrays through the air. "Can you still fight, Bismarck?"

"Yes," Bismarck assured her. She was banged up, but all her guns were still operational.

"Then we should attack together. You were able to destroy her portside guns?"

"Yes, but her tail can reach around to cover that side, so it doesn't even matter," Bismarck responded with frustration.

"Hm… I think it does," Haruna disagreed. "If we both attack her from her port side, then her tail can only choose one of us as the target. The other will be able to get a good lock on her and fire at her."

"So we both rush her from her left side?" Bismarck asked for confirmation.

"As long as your body can handle it, then yes."

Bismarck nodded. "I'll be fine. Let's do it."

Making sure to watch out for the stingrays, Haruna and Bismarck began sailing towards the Abyssal, moving so that they made it around to her left. The European Princess' vehicle rigging allowed her to attain great speeds, but it did not allow for much maneuverability, so she was unable to fully turn around to face them. The only defense she had against such an attack was her muscular and flexible tail, which she twisted to face the oncoming battleships.

"It's working," Haruna said. "She seems to be aiming towards me… Bismarck, you fire and I'll try and evade!"

" _Jawohl,_ " Bismarck replied as she readied her cannons.

With a resounding report, Bismarck fired her guns, her shots hitting the Abyssal before she could even begin firing at Haruna. When the smoke cleared, the Princess was still standing, but her left side was heavily leaking cyan blood. Her calm expression had also been replaced with a snarl.

"Sink… Sink!" the Abyssal cried out.

She charged at the two ship girls with her high-speed rigging, but Haruna and Bismarck were far enough apart that the Abyssal ended up missing both of them. However, to the ship girls' shock, they suddenly found that neither of them could move.

"W-what happened?" Haruna asked in confusion as she tried to move her rigid body. "I felt a sharp stinging pain… Did we get hit by the stingrays? But how?"

Bismarck cursed as she realized what had happened. "Those things probably hitched a ride on the Princess' rigging, then flew off and attacked us when she sped past us. She wasn't even trying to hit us with her rigging in the first place."

No more words were shared between the two ship girls, as at that moment, the Abyssal fired her guns at the immobilized Haruna, causing the Japanese battleship to cry out in pain. Haruna's guns became dented by the ensuing explosion, and part of her starboard side had been burnt. There was no rest for her, though. The Princess then rushed at her again and used her tail to slam into Haruna's ribcage. The shock of the blow sent Haruna bouncing off the surface of the ocean.

"Haruna!" Bismarck cried out with horror. She was now able to move again, but there wasn't much she could to for her teammate anymore. She at least wanted to make sure that Haruna was still alive, though.

The European Princess had other plans. She then turned her ire towards Bismarck and rushed at her, but Bismarck anticipated this and fired off another salvo in the path of the oncoming enemy. The shots were not very accurate since they were fired off relatively quickly, but it at least had the effect of throwing the Princess off, which gave Bismarck a chance to sail over to Haruna.

"Haruna, are you okay?" Bismarck asked worriedly.

The ship girl in question was clearly hurt badly, but she weakly got to her feet and gave Bismarck a smile. "I'm… I'm all right."

"You don't look all right," Bismarck frowned.

As if to accentuate the German's words, Haruna began coughing up blood and then wheezing, her face contorted with pain.

"You can't stay here any longer," Bismarck decided. "I'll distract the Princess for now. Sail back to the fleet and retreat."

"No… I can't," Haruna shook her head, even blood dribbled from the corner of her mouth.

"I know the Admiral said we need to look out for each other, but you don't need to take it this far," Bismarck told her.

"That's not it…" Haruna replied. "It's not about the Admiral's orders. You and I are fleetmates, and so I want to help you. We're comrades, right?"

Bismarck was at a loss for words for a moment, but she then smiled. "Yeah, you're right. And that's exactly why you're going to get out of here right now."

"B-but -"

"Your guns are bent out of shape, and you look even worse than I do," Bismarck argued. "As your teammate, I'm not going to let you sink here. Get out of here, and go see if you can find help for me if you can. I'll try and hold the Princess off until then."

Haruna looked reluctant, but she eventually nodded. Bismarck did have a point. "All right… Please survive, Bismarck."

"I will. Now go."

As Haruna slowly sailed away, Bismarck turned back to the European Princess, who appeared to be curiously watching the proceedings.

Bismarck's tired blue eyes studied the Princess. _I was talking big just now… But how exactly am I supposed to beat her?_


	33. My Promise IX

"Shoukaku, do you have any planes left?" Kaga asked as the two of them leapt out of the way of the Aircraft Carrier Princess' flamethrower.

"In my quiver? No. I do still have a few fighters and a bomber in the air, though," the white-haired carrier answered.

Kaga nodded. "That will do. Use your fighters to create an opening for your bomber, and then recall it to yourself."

Shoukaku wasn't quite sure what Kaga was planning, but she followed the secretary ship's orders nonetheless. A few moments later, the Suisei dive bomber flew towards her and landed on her flight deck, disappearing in a small cloud of smoke and reappearing as an arrow in her quiver.

"What happened to close-quarters combat?" Aircraft Carrier Princess taunted as she watched the two ship girls momentarily retreat. "It does not matter, I suppose. You will be eliminated either way."

After she finished speaking, the Abyssal withdrew some of her planes from the air and pulled them towards the airspace where she was fighting Kaga and Shoukaku. There, she had the spherical planes hover in place above the battlefield. Their circular shadows were dark on the ocean below, dotting the water with various black spots. What Kaga and Shoukaku found strange was that none of the planes was moving; instead, they merely hovered in the air above the Abyssal and the two carriers.

"Well? Come and face me if you dare," the Aircraft Carrier Princess declared, holding out her arms. "You have heard of underwater and underground minefields, but I wonder if you can withstand an aerial minefield? Now that my dive bombers are positioned directly above us, I can easily and quickly call any of them downwards in order to destroy you if you step underneath them."

Kaga and Shoukaku glanced up at the supposed aerial minefield with worried looks. They had no planes left, and so they were powerless to stop the hovering bombers. They did, however, have their anti-air guns, so they could still use those.

"We have no choice but to fight her in close combat, so we'll need to rush in," Kaga said to Shoukaku. "There's no reason for us to wade through her 'minefield,' however. We will cut a path through it by shooting down the planes with our anti-air guns, and then sail through that path."

Going with that plan, the two carriers began shooting down the hovering aircraft, a task that was fairly simple since the planes were not moving. The ship girls moved at their maximum possible speed, only shooting down the minimum number of planes. They did this because they knew that if they stopped for too long, the Princess would be able to direct the other planes towards them. If they were moving this quickly, though, the only planes that would be able to reach them in time were the ones directly above them, but since they shot those down, they were able to sail unhindered.

 _It seems all that endurance training does pay off,_ Kaga thought as she fired her flak guns, remembering the long runs that her admiral made his fleet do every training session. _But still… This seems too easy. Did the Aircraft Carrier Princess really spend all that effort setting up her minefield just for us to bypass it so simply? Did she underestimate our speed and anti-air accuracy, or does she have something else planned?_

Kaga found out the answer the hard way. Since her eyes were occupied in aiming her anti-air guns towards the planes, she was not paying too much attention to the Aircraft Carrier Princess herself. Kaga figured that the Princess couldn't really pose much of a threat since all the Princess' planes were already in the air, but she had completely forgotten about the Princess' beast. A jet of dark red flames shot towards Kaga, and the intense heat was the only warning the ship girl had. Thinking quickly, Kaga deactivated her boat slippers and dove underwater. The flamethrower passed over her head, and even under the surface, Kaga could feel the hot power emanating from the attack.

She then resurfaced, breathing in air and a sigh of relief at having dodged the flames. However, because she had to travel underwater for a brief period, she was not able to shoot down the mines in her path. As soon as she surfaced and regained her footing, a white dive bomber smashed into her, exploding with a bang and almost knocking her over. A second one soon followed, and this one _did_ knock her over. Kaga tasted blood in her mouth as she momentarily dipped beneath the waves again before her equipment righted her. Smoke trailed from her rigging, and she felt a resounding ringing in her ears as her vision swam.

The low growl of more Abyssal bombers barely managed to make it to her, but there was nothing she could do to stop them. The repeated explosions had thrown her off-course and into the minefield, and now the Princess would easily be able to bomb her to hell and back. Kaga tried to aim her guns, but she was still woozy from being hit twice in quick succession.

Luckily, Shoukaku had noticed her teammate's troubles and deviated from her own course. Shoukaku instead turned her path towards Kaga, allowing her anti-air guns to shoot down the planes that were going for the stoic carrier and saving her from certain destruction. Kaga used that time to recover and get her anti-air guns back on track as well.

"We have to keep moving!" Shoukaku shouted over her guns.

Kaga nodded and sailed on. If they stopped for too long, the aerial minefield would just close in on them and blot them out. Now they both also had to keep an eye out for the Princess herself, though.

 _I suppose our movements were too easy to read,_ Kaga realized. Since Kaga and Shoukaku were shooting down the planes directly ahead of the path they were going to take, the Aircraft Carrier Princess could just look at that and see exactly where the two ship girls were planning to sail. That was how she had been able to fire her flamethrower so accurately this time in spite of the carriers' fast speeds.

However, the ship girls were rapidly approaching the Princess' position, and the Abyssal recognized that she would be overrun before she could recharge and fire off another flamethrower. She gathered up the remaining bombers in her aerial minefield and called them back to her. They formed a white wall behind her, and she pointed her hand towards the ship girls.

"Sink!" the Aircraft Carrier Princess demanded, and as she spoke, her planes rushed forward in an all-or-nothing attack.

Kaga and Shoukaku paused their advance as they saw what the Abyssal was planning. Kaga thought about just going underwater again, but that wouldn't work against dive bombers, especially not against an air fleet of such size. She wouldn't be able to get deep enough to avoid the explosions, and that would definitely lead to her sinking.

"We have to throw off their timing," Kaga said.

"I agree. Sail forward, then?" Shoukaku suggested.

"Yes."

At a time like this when an enormous bomber fleet is heading straight towards you, Kaga figured the most unexpected thing would be to sail right into the bombers instead of trying to avoid them. Simultaneously, Kaga and Shoukaku sailed full speed ahead and jumped right into the oncoming wall of Abyssal bombers. They fired their anti-air guns in order to make a hole in the wall, and using that newly-created space, they leapt right through the rushing dive bomber assault, completely bypassing it. Since the timing of the bombers was controlled by the Princess and not by proximity, the dive bombers failed to explode. They did blow up a second after Kaga and Shoukaku passed through them, and the explosions sent the two ship girls flying forward and made them faceplant into the ocean, but ultimately they escaped any major harm.

The Aircraft Carrier Princess stared dumbly as she watched the ship girls dust themselves off.

"You… How did you…"

Kaga and Shoukaku wore firm looks, and Shoukaku cracked her knuckles, fully prepared to sink the Abyssal with her fists if she had to. The Aircraft Carrier Princess took in their confidence and was not happy about it.

"Why won't you sink! Die like the humans who were aboard you!"

The Princess fired off her flamethrower again, but unlike last time, the ship girls were prepared for it, and they were both able to dodge the attack. However, the flamethrower maneuver did give the Princess time to call over six Abyssal fighters to aid her. The spherical planes orbited around her as she smirked.

"Come at me, then," the Princess scowled. "But be warned, as soon as you get close, I will send these planes crashing into you."

Kaga glanced at Shoukaku, and the white-haired carrier nodded in return. Kaga then notched her bow with her final arrow and fired. The projectile flew for a very short distance before materializing into two fighters.

Shoukaku followed suit, though her arrow only produced the dive bomber that she had recovered earlier. In total, the ship girls had three planes to the Abyssal's six, and only two out of those three were fighters capable of taking on the Abyssal planes.

The Princess was visibly confused. "What is this? Pathetic. I will destroy your planes and then come after you myself, then."

Before the Princess could make good on her threat, Kaga sent her two fighters forward. The Abyssal moved her fighters to intercept. Since Kaga only had two planes, the Aircraft Carrier Princess could easily destroy them and also keep a watch out for Shoukaku's bomber, which was undoubtedly going to approach from a different direction.

But to the Abyssal's surprise, Kaga's fighters did not even try to engage her own. Instead, the ship girl's fighters turned and crashed right into each other, blowing up in a cloud of smoke and flames. The Princess stood there, completely at a loss as to why Kaga would do such a thing. However, she found her answer as Shoukaku's dive bomber came blazing through the smoke cloud and straight towards her. Since she was so distracted by the explosion, the Abyssal was unable to react in time to stop the bomber, and Shoukaku's plane dropped its load right onto the Abyssal's head.

An explosion ensued, and the Aircraft Carrier Princess shrieked in pain and surprise. Now that the Abyssal was blinded and damaged, Shoukaku and Kaga both rushed in themselves. Kaga launched a right haymaker at the Abyssal, her fist connecting with the Princess' already-damaged face. Shoukaku also took that opportunity to kick the Abyssal in her stomach, the double blow causing the Princess to stumble and fall to her knees.

"It's over!" Shoukaku declared, gritting her teeth and grabbing the Abyssal's head with both her hands. She had never actually executed this move before, but her admiral had taught it to her as a way to snap the enemy's neck and kill them quickly.

The Aircraft Carrier Princess was faintly aware of Shoukaku's hands around the base of her head, and she knew that if she didn't act now, she would die. With a desperate flair, the Abyssal had all six of her fighters simply converge on her position. The six planes smashed into the Abyssal, but that also meant that Shoukaku, who was in close proximity to the Princess, was hit.

Though kamikaze attacks typically did less damage then bomb hits, when six planes exploded at once, it was bound to be pretty destructive. Kaga rushed over to scene of the explosion and pulled Shoukaku out. The white-haired carrier coughed and sputtered as Kaga dragged her out by the armpits, her body limply following along.

"Are you all right?" Kaga asked, noting with concern the damage to Shoukaku. Her flight deck was completely destroyed and parts of her clothes had been torn off, revealing charred black skin underneath.

Shoukaku groaned in pain.

Kaga frowned deeply as she noticed smoke sizzling from Shoukaku's wounds. The Fifth Carrier Division ship girl's left arm was also burnt black and shriveled. It seemed that Shoukaku had been almost entirely engulfed in flames by the explosions, but apparently her Fairies had managed to put the fires out fairly quickly. Nevertheless, it was clear that the flames had still done severe damage. There was no way that she could hold her bow or fight in close quarters in such a state.

"Perhaps you should retreat," Kaga told her.

Shoukaku glanced down at her burnt body, then weakly nodded. "But… You are injured as well…"

"That does not matter. Look over there."

The two ship girls set their eyes on the Aircraft Carrier Princess, who had also been damaged by the six kamikazes. In addition to that, the repeated attacks from Kaga and Shoukaku had evidently taken their toll on her. The Abyssal's right arm was missing, and her anti-air guns were smashed beyond all recognition. Her sickly white skin was crusted in black and red, and the dark flames in the jaw of her Beast had dimmed to a flicker. The Princess was able to stand, but she was panting and her red eyes were losing their light. Black liquid seeped out from the corner of her mouth.

"One more hit will finish her," Kaga concluded. "You have done your job here, Shoukaku. Now use the anti-air cover from the escorting ships and sail back to the Admiral."

"All right. I will see you there, then."

Shoukaku gave Kaga a reassuring nod before slowly sailing away, trails of smoke slithering out from her body and rigging as she retreated.

The Aircraft Carrier Princess looked up at Kaga, then grinned at her. "So… It's come to this."

"Yes. Your grave awaits you," Kaga said coldly.

"Heh… Tell me, Kaga. Do you remember them?"

Kaga blinked in confusion. "Remember whom?"

"Oh… The sailors who served aboard you," the Princess continued in her hate-filled tone.

"Of course I remember them. What of it?"

"What do you remember about them?"

Kaga was unsure of why the Abyssal was asking her these questions, but at this point, Kaga had already won the battle, and every second that passed was only making her enemy weaker and more tired.

"I remember their courage and their strength," Kaga answered, "how they fought even in the face of death because they valued their honor and their loyalty to their country. Though they are nameless to history, their spirit carries on inside of me. I may just be one vessel, but I have the power of hundreds behind me. That is why you have lost today."

"What nonsense," the Abyssal spat. "Is that really all you remember?"

The Aircraft Carrier Princess looked into Kaga's eyes. An unsettling feeling poked at the ship girl, and it was the same sense of discomfort she had felt back when she first saw this Abyssal at Hachijo-jima.

"I am familiar to you, am I not?" the Princess asked. "That is the strange sensation you are feeling now."

"I do not know you, aside from the time we briefly met at that island," Kaga denied.

"You don't know me, and I don't know you. And yet we are both similar," the Aircraft Carrier Princess said. "You heard it back at the island you mentioned. Abyssals and ship girls are two sides of the same coin. You were molded by the positive aspects of the crew of the aircraft carrier IJN _Kaga_ … And I was born of the hatred, the despair, the gloom, the pain, and the regrets of that very same crew."

It was true that Kaga had heard about this from the Battleship Princess at Hachijo-jima, but what she did not know was that the Aircraft Carrier Princess was created from the feelings of the same crew that she was.

"So you are… Also a manifestation of the _Kaga_?" the ship girl asked, unable to hide the tint of wonder in her voice.

The Princess smiled. "Yes… And the crew demands a sacrifice. Who should pay for all that they have suffered? Who is going to compensate them for the pain and sorrow that they endured? All those years that were cut short for them that they could have spent with their family and friends - can any of that even be measured, let alone paid back? As you said, they have all been lost to history. Nobody cares about them anymore. Their problems do not matter. The only one who still remembers… Is me."

An enormous burst of dark red flames suddenly shot forth from the Princess' monstrous maw. The unexpectedness of the attack gave Kaga no time to dodge, and all she could do was raise her left arm in front of her face, using her flight deck to protect herself from the fire. The impact of the flamethrower pushed her back, and she grunted in pain as she felt the intense heat engulf her arm and her flight deck. She allowed herself to fall backwards so as to avoid the brunt of the flames, and as she fell, she dunked her flaming arm into the ocean. The saltwater stung momentarily, but when she pulled it out, she didn't feel much pain. Instead, she saw that her entire arm, flight deck and all, had been completely burnt away.

 _If those flames had hit my head or torso…_ She then looked back at the Aircraft Carrier Princess. The Abyssal's eyes had turned black, and the flames had gone out in her Beast's jaw. Slowly, she teetered forward and collapsed onto the surface of the ocean. Then, she began sinking.

Kaga watched the Princess slip below the water, and she couldn't help but to regard her with slight pity. _Is that how the sailors felt when they died?_

Behind her, she could hear the sound of the escort ships cheering as the remainder of the Princess' planes fell out of the sky and plopped lifelessly into the sea. The Aircraft Carrier Princess had been defeated.

* * *

A low moan rumbled from the throat of the Battleship Princess' beast as the creature opened its red mouth, revealing its jagged teeth and broad red tongue which was sticky with saliva. The beast's long, gray arms dragged behind it, dipping into the ocean as the Battleship Princess walked towards Yamato.

The ship girl had to admit that she felt an acute sense of fear as she watched the beast. That thing was clearly unnatural… But what disturbed her even more were the Battleship Princess' red eyes. Their gaze bore through Yamato, and they appeared to her as demonic searchlights that signaled the coming of her doom.

The Battleship Princess' six main gun barrels beared down on Yamato from where they were attached to the beast's shoulders. Yamato prepared to sail out of their angle, but one of the beast's arms suddenly lashed out with surprising speed, creating a huge splash of water that slammed into Yamato's face. Stunned by the saltwater spraying into her eyes, Yamato was unable to avoid the ensuing cannon shots.

Though she was only hit by one of them, the shot that crashed into her gut and then exploded sent even a superbattleship like her flying backwards. She landed hard upon the water, and she slowly got back up, struggling to breath.

 _No… The fight has barely even started and I've already taken damage!_

"That was truly pathetic," the Princess chided. "Could you not even predict a simple maneuver like that? How did you become the flagship?"

Ignoring the Princess' taunts, Yamato decided she needed to go on the offensive or risk being destroyed before she could even get in a hit. She recognized that a straight frontal attack probably would not work, so she reached into her rigging and pulled out a handful of explosive shells. She sailed to the Princess' right and pointed her guns at the enemy. The Battleship Princess raised an eyebrow but made no move to dodge, which Yamato found strange. Nevertheless, instead of firing, Yamato hurled the shells at the Princess like a ninja throwing shuriken.

This actually managed to catch the Battleship Princess off-guard, but only slightly. The Princess' beast reacted in time, and it lifted one of its burly arms to block the explosions. However, this gave Yamato time to sail around over to the Princess' undefended portside, and that was when Yamato actually fired her main cannons. With a roar that told of immense power, Yamato's guns shot their projectiles at the Princess with unbridled fury. The Princess' beast once again reacted, using its other arm to defend the Princess. Yamato's shots blew up when they slammed into the beast's arm, but amazingly, the beast appeared as if it had suffered no damage.

 _No way! How?_ Yamato stared in disbelief. Was the Battleship Princess' rigging beast really so sturdy that it could tank hits from her 46cm guns?

"Do you see, Yamato? Not even a supposed 'superbattleship' can stand up to the pinnacle of Abyssal firepower and armor," the Battleship Princess said, her tone not one of gloating but rather more akin to one stating an irrefutable fact.

To emphasize her point, the cannons on the Princess' rigging went off, and Yamato sailed away as fast as she could in order to avoid the shots. But since she was occupied trying to dodge the incoming shells, the beast was able to swat her away with one of its arms, again sending Yamato skipping along the surface of the ocean. When she came to a painful stop, she saw that her portside guns had crumpled under the force of the attack. Though the guns had taken the brunt of the Abyssal's swipe for her, that also meant that she could no longer utilize her full firepower. And since even an entire broadside wasn't enough to damage the beast, Yamato began wonder if it was even possible to win this fight anymore.

 _Maybe I should just try and retreat,_ she thought worriedly. _Wait… No. I cannot do that. I still have to buy time for the others to escape… And I must live up to my name._

"I am Yamato of the Imperial Japanese Navy!" Yamato shouted defiantly as she stood up, more for herself than for the Battleship Princess. "Do not think you can defeat me so easily!"

The Battleship Princess made no verbal reply. Instead, a huge red beam shot out from the beast's massive maw, streaming with surprising speed right towards Yamato. The ship girl quickly dove to the side, unceremoniously landing on the water as her heart beat rapidly in her chest.

 _So she has an attack like that too… I should have expected that,_ Yamato admonished herself. Still, it was better that the Princess used it now rather than at a time when Yamato wouldn't have been able to dodge.

The Princess sailed closer to Yamato. "You ship girls are all the same. You are overwhelmed by notions of heroism and camaraderie, so much to the point where you cannot accurately gauge whether you can actually defeat your enemy or not. Yamato… You will sink here."

"No. It is you Abyssals who are wrong," Yamato countered. "All you care about is causing as much damage and taking as many lives as possible. The Battle of Tangier proved that. You were in command there, weren't you?"

The first visible strike of emotion flashed across the Princess' face as she scowled deeply.

Yamato smiled. "But never mind that. I will make you pay for your sins right here."

Reaching into her rigging again, Yamato pulled out a long, metal stick. She clicked a button on the stick, showing it to be a red-colored umbrella. Yamato held the umbrella in one hand and pulled out some more shells in her other, lining her fingers with two shells each.

"I could have never done this in my warship form, but now, I'll show you the true strength of a ship girl," Yamato declared.

Yamato tossed the shells up into the air. As they came down, Yamato held out her umbrella and started spinning it. The shells hit the umbrella and ricocheted off of it, and the fast spinning of the umbrella sent the shells in a variety of different directions. The Battleship Princess had not expected such an attack, and though she tried to defend herself with her beast's arms, the varying speed and direction of the shells still allowed some to hit her.

"Urgh… Damn you," the Princess cursed, pulling back after a shell had fallen in from up above her and detonated right on her head. The blow wasn't enough to cause significant damage, but now there was blood dripping from her scalp and flowing over her pale face.

But even as the Princess sailed backwards, Yamato rushed ahead, her umbrella pointed out in front of her like a battering ram.

Battleship Princess' eyes widened at the ship girl's aggressive maneuver. _What the…!_

Using her beast, the Princess reached out one of its long gray arms in order to grab Yamato. However, as the beast's arm came into contact with the umbrella, it was unable to advance any further.

The Abyssal stared in shock as she watched Yamato grit her teeth and push forward. _She's actually matching my beast in strength?_

Yamato's muscles strained as she used all her horsepower to press on. Slowly, she even began pushing the beast's arm back. The Princess sensed this and had the beast's other arm reach out to slam into Yamato, but the ship girl only smirked as she saw this. Yamato turned her starboard guns right onto the actual body of the Princess now that the Abyssal was unprotected by the beast's arms. Moments before the gray appendage knocked Yamato away, the ship girl's 46cm guns cracked through the air and smashed brilliantly onto the Abyssal Princess.

A series of loud crashes ensued, both from the beast slamming into Yamato as well as from Yamato's guns denting into the Abyssal. Yamato was sent soaring through the air for the third time, and this time she actually turned slightly to protect her guns. That meant that her body took a fair bit of damage, and she cried out in pain as she bounced off the ocean before finally landing. Yamato gingerly stood back up, using her umbrella as a crutch and thankful for her impressive armor. Even so, her breathing was now more labored, and an intense, throbbing pain emanated from her ribs.

As bad as Yamato was, the Battleship Princess was not much better. The shots from Yamato's cannons had done their damage. Shiny red blood poured out from wounds on the Princess' torso, and her right arm was bent crookedly, twisted from the force of the explosions. The Abyssal coughed up blood and black liquid, and her eyes blazed with anger.

 _Impossible… A ship girl has done this much damage to me?_ The Battleship Princess looked over at Yamato. _Could she truly be as powerful as she claims…?_

Yamato smirked at the battered Abyssal. "It seems you grew overconfident, Battleship Princess. You may have underestimated me because I was sunk fairly easily by aircraft back during the War, but today you have tried to face me in a battleship contest. I am Japan's first superbattleship! I will not be defeated so easily!"

She angled her guns towards the Princess again, and the Abyssal reflexively brough the beast's arms around to guard from the hits. The Princess heard the guns firing and the shells impacting her beast, but the sounds were slightly more muted. Nevertheless, the Princess removed the arms and then prepared to fire retaliatory shots. However, as soon as she unshielded herself, a barrage of firepower flew towards her, pelting her with shells once more.

The repeated explosions took their toll on the Princess, and she felt her body becoming weaker. Her black dress had torn in several places and her skin was bruised blue. The Abyssal hacked up blood again as she sailed back from Yamato.

"You shouldn't be so hasty with your defenses," Yamato said to her. "I only fired my secondary guns on that first volley. Still, I knew you would immediately use those arms to block the shots no matter what because I've only fired my main guns up until this point, and taking another volley of _those_ would be devastating. It appears I guessed correctly, Abyssal."

The Battleship Princess clutched at a wound on her abdomen, trying to stem the bleeding. _This bitch… She is far more clever than she initially made herself out to be._

"Just… Sink!" the Princess shouted, growing frustrated. _How can she be fighting me, the flagship of the Abyssal fleet, on equal footing?!_

Filled with rage, the Abyssal Princess rushed forward, sailing straight towards Yamato. The ship girl turned around, and the Princess urged herself on even faster because she thought that Yamato was trying to flee. The Abyssal was planning on first attempting to grab Yamato with her beast's arms, and if that failed, she would just predict the ship girl's trajectory and blow her away with her main guns.

But to the Princess' surprise, instead of sailing away at full speed, Yamato fired her main guns. This made no sense to the Princess since Yamato was facing away from her and her shells would just hit the ocean, but she quickly realized the meaning of the shots. Yamato made no attempt to control the recoil of the shots, and the force from the cannons firing sent Yamato backwards. Since the Abyssal Princess was rushing forwards at the same time, the maneuver allowed Yamato to slip past the outstretched arms of the beast and move inside of them.

For the first time in the fight, Yamato was close enough to touch the Abyssal with her hands. From this close, Yamato could see the demonic fury in the Princess' red eyes, but she could also see the intense damage that her guns had done to the Abyssal. That gave her confidence to press on even in face of the Abyssal's fearsome gaze, and Yamato lifted her umbrella and stabbed the metal rod end at the Abyssal, aiming for her head.

 _Now, die!_ Yamato cried out internally as she grit her teeth and slammed the umbrella down with all the strength of a superbattleship.

But unfortunately for her, the Princess made the most minute of movements, tilting her head in such a way that the rod simply deflected off the Abyssal's horns. Stunned by the counter, Yamato was left open, and the Battleship Princess took that opportunity to growl and slash at Yamato with her black claws. The strike tore a gash into Yamato all the way from her left shoulder to her right hip, and blood sprayed out from the wound, splattering the Abyssal. Yamato winced in pain and stumbled back, and the Princess followed this up with a powerful kick to Yamato's stomach, sending the ship girl flying in the opposite direction again.

This time, Yamato struggled mightily to get up. The saltwater stung fearsomely in her wound, and her umbrella had come loose and was now floating aimlessly on the surface of the ocean. The slash she had received from the Princess was actually bleeding heavily, tinting the water around her red.

 _No… I can't sink yet,_ she reminded herself. There was a brief spike of despair as she realized just how much relief she would feel if she just let go right now, but she quickly overcame it. This time, she would be of use.

"I am impressed that you can still stand," the Battleship Princess said, her tone calm but tinged with exertion.

Yamato stood to her full height, even as her shirt and skin were dyed red and slick with blood. "I… I will remain standing until I have destroyed you."

"Fine, then. I will simply force you to your knees."

All at the same time, the Battleship Princess fired her portside and starboard cannons as well as the red beam from her beast's mouth. The multiple attacks covered a large range, and so Yamato could not dodge. The ship girl dove for her umbrella and picked it up with haste. Opting to take her chances with the Princess' shells rather than the beast's laser beam, Yamato positioned herself in the path of the portside barrage. As the shells came raining down on her, she held her umbrella out in front of her. Though the projectiles exploded on impact, Yamato was protected from taking damage as the umbrella took the force of the impact.

"Oh? That is some impressive armor," Battleship Princess admitted.

Yamato smiled defiantly. "Thank you, but I like my firepower as well."

The ship girl angled her starboard cannons towards the Princess once again and fired. The large shells sailed through the air and arced down towards the the Battleship Princess. But as usual, the Princess merely used her beast's arms to block the shots, and the shells exploded harmlessly off the thick skin of the massive creature.

The Battleship Princess moved the arms away so that she could fire her returning shots, but her aim was thrown off when something flew towards her at amazing speed.

 _What the hell is this!_

The Princess' red eyes went wide as she tried to dodge the projectile, but it was too late for that.

"Augh!" the Abyssal cried out as she felt sharp metal pierce her abdomen. Blood sprayed out of the wound, and the Princess gasped in agony.

Trembling, the Princess glanced down to see what had struck her. Stabbed into her stomach was Yamato's umbrella. The ship girl had apparently folded it back up to make it more aerodynamic and then thrown it with all her power, as if she were some sort of spearman.

 _I've had it with this bitch…_ the Princess seethed. In spite of her great anger, she was also grimly aware that her strength was slowly fading. She had taken quite a bit of damage, definitely more than she had initially expected to take. She needed to come up with a plan soon, or else she really would be defeated.

The Abyssal Princess began sailing towards Yamato, her crimson blood dripping slowly from her wounds. Yamato carefully observed the Princess, poised to dodge and counterattack as soon as the opportunity presented itself. Though Yamato was incredibly fatigued from her own wounds, the sight of the battered Battleship Princess showed her that she could win this fight.

 _Just a little bit more…_ Yamato told herself. _I'm going to prove that I am worthy of the superbattleship title!_

The Princess fired, and Yamato tracked the trajectory of the shells with her trained eyes. With practiced movements, Yamato sailed out of the way of the shots, and they fell harmlessly into the water, only sending up small splashes instead of doing any actual damage.

 _And of course she has one more weapon…_ Yamato reminded herself.

Sure enough, the red laser beam shot out of the beast's unholy maw right after the shots missed Yamato. This attack was even easier to dodge because the Princess missed by a mile and instead shot her beam in a ragged arc that blasted at a downward angle into the water below. Yamato could see the Princess staggering, which was probably why the attack missed by so much.

 _So her wounds are finally taking a toll on her,_ Yamato allowed herself a tired smile. Though she was nearing her limit, evidently the Abyssal was as well.

However, a split second after the Princess' laser beam missed, a series of underwater explosions blew up around Yamato, sending large blasts of seawater into the air. The force and placement of the underwater explosions surprised Yamato, and she was almost knocked back.

 _What… So missed her initial volley on purpose?_ Yamato realized with horror. _She then also missed her laser beam on purpose, instead intending to strike the high-explosive shells that she had put underwater._

Like a demon emerging from the fires of hell, the Battleship Princess suddenly shot out from in between the huge bursts of water and lunged at Yamato, her red eyes burning with fury and her beast letting out a bone-rattling bellow. Yamato tried to parry, but her umbrella was stuck inside the Princess. The beast's fist crashed into Yamato with a sickening crunch, and the ship girl was thrown several meters away from the force of the hit for what felt like the millionth time today.

Yamato's mind told her she needed to get up as soon as possible, but her body refused. Her rib injuries had grown even more severe, and as she gasped for air, an intense, shooting pain coursed through her sides. She tasted blood on her tongue, and she felt very dizzy. Yamato was dimly aware of the Abyssal sailing towards her.

 _No… I won't lose…_

Gritting her teeth through the pain, Yamato slowly tried to stand, but the intense pain only allowed her to make it to her knees. Even so, she still managed to point her starboard cannons at the Princess as she approached… But when she tried to shoot, nothing would come out. A terrible feeling washed over Yamato as she realized that the beast's punch must have smashed her last remaining guns.

"Aren't you a pathetic sight," Battleship Princess mused as she stood over Yamato, her beast looming above them both. "You came close, didn't you? I must applaud you for that."

The guns on the shoulders of the beast depressed down towards Yamato.

"Die, Yamato."

Instead, Yamato let out a defiant cry and leapt at the Princess with the desperation of a cornered animal. Battleship Princess gasped in shock, but at this range, there was nothing she could do. Yamato's hands wrapped themselves around the Princess' neck and squeezed with all their might. If the Abyssal wasn't a Princess-class battleship, her armor would have easily crumpled. Instead, her armor managed to hold out, but her windpipe was being restricted.

The Battleship Princess' expression turned to one of panic. Her beast's arms were made for bludgeoning and smashing, so it would be impossible to remove Yamato from this close range without also severely damaging herself, which could end in her death in her current state. The Abyssal looked into Yamato's eyes. The once-gentle battleship's eyes were dimmed by exhaustion and pain, and yet there was a fierce hardness to them.

 _I see… She has not forgotten what she is fighting for… Nor must I._

Abandoning her futile attempt to remove Yamato's arms, the Battleship Princess instead placed one hand on Yamato's back and the other on the hilt of the umbrella that was stuck inside her. Using her left hand to firmly keep the umbrella in place, Battleship Princess used her right hand to pull Yamato towards her with all her might.

The sound of steel tearing through flesh was heard as the Princess impaled Yamato upon her own umbrella. The Abyssal winced a bit in pain as the umbrella dug slightly deeper into her as well, but it was worth the cost. Yamato's head was now right next to the Abyssal's, and the Battleship Princess listened to the ship girl's ragged breathing in her ear. A moment later, Yamato gave one last rattling breath and then stopped. Her arms fell limply from the Princess' neck.

"An impressive showing," the Battleship Princess admitted to Yamato, though she knew that the ship girl could no longer hear her.

Again using one hand to steady the umbrella, the Battleship Princess slowly pushed Yamato off the umbrella's hilt. The ship girl's blood soaked her weapon's handle, and the Abyssal caught one last look at Yamato's dead eyes before the Japanese superbattleship collapsed with nothing left to support her.

As she watched Yamato's body slip below the waves, the Battleship Princess sighed to herself.

 _My wounds are too severe; I will have to retreat from the battlefield. Once again I underestimated the ship girls._

"Hahaha… " the Princess laughed weakly. "The power of my hatred was even able to overcome the flagship of the ship girl fleet. Soon… All will be consumed by the darkness of the Abyss."

With one last glance at the spot where Yamato had sunk, the Battleship Princess turned and sailed away.


	34. My Promise X

Akagi, Souryuu, and Hiryuu sailed around the Airfield Princess. They had her surrounded from three sides, and thanks to Zuikaku and the other remaining carriers, the Airfield Princess' planes were mostly busy in dealing with them. All three carriers had their bows out, ready to notch their weapons and fire any remaining arrows or planes.

"You're surrounded. Maybe you should consider surrendering," Hiryuu cautioned the Princess.

"Oh? But there's only three of you," the Abyssal replied snidely.

"That's more than enough to sink you," Akagi said.

Meanwhile, Souryuu remained silent from where she stood in the Abyssal's blindspot. Since Zuikaku had been able to stab out an eye, Akagi's plan was to have herself and Hiryuu distract the Princess while Souryuu went around to her blindspot and fired an arrow.

"You've got a hole in your stomach. You're barely standing right now, so you might as well give up the tough act," Airfield Princess smirked at Akagi.

Akagi scowled. "That may be true, but I'll show you that this is no act."

With her last arrow, Akagi skillfully notched it and fired. At the same time, the other two carriers also let loose their arrows. Akagi expected the Princess to dodge her or Hiryuu's arrow, therefore putting her in the path of Souryuu's arrow, but to her surprise, the Princess actually chose to evade Souryuu's despite the fact that she never even took her eye off Hiryuu and Akagi. Souryuu's arrow sailed past the Princess, and the Abyssal used her beast rigging to shield herself from Hiryuu's arrow and the metal gauntlet on her right hand to block Akagi's.

"Heh. Pathetic strategy," the Airfield Princess grinned. "How obvious could you be? Do you think I'm not aware of where my own blindspot is?"

"You just got lucky this time," Hiryuu shot back, frustrated that their plan failed.

"Haha! And how many arrows do you dumb bitches have left?" Airfield Princess gleefully retorted. "Zero, that's right! What could you possible even do to me now?"

"You want to find out! Souryuu yelled as she rushed the Abyssal from her blindspot.

The Airfield Princess whirled around and intercepted Souryuu, swinging her hips so that her airfield smacked into Souryuu's ribs and knocked her off her feet. Hiryuu and Akagi took that opportunity to rush the Princess as well. The Princess turned back to them after knocking Souryuu over, prepared to repeat the maneuver and use her runways as a weapon.

"As if we would fall for that again!" Hiryuu said.

Instead of being hit by the runway, Hiryuu dodged the attack by jumping on top of it, much to the Princess' surprise. The Princess tried to grab at Hiryuu, but the Abyssal was only met with a kick in the face for her efforts. As the Airfield Princess staggered, Akagi put all her strength into an uppercut, aiming for the chin as she had been taught to in CQC training. Though the exertion caused Akagi to grunt in pain, the blow had a much greater effect on the Princess, who was thoroughly dazed and battered by the combo. Once again, however, the carriers were forced away by the beast's laser beam discharge before they could finish the Princess off.

The three ship girls regrouped a few meters away from the Princess.

"What now?" Hiryuu asked Akagi.

"Wait, before that, look," Souryuu interjected, glancing up at the sky.

A small squadron of dive bombers were heading away from Zuikaku's group and towards the three _Kido Butai_ members.

"When they get close, we'll shoot them down. There aren't that many," Akagi said, readying her anti-air guns. "Just watch out for the Princess' beam as well."

But to their surprise, the planes never attempted to attack them. Instead, the dive bombers descended towards the Airfield Princess.

"She's recalling them…?" Souryuu observed with slight confusion.

"Maybe she is intending on using them against us later in the fight," Akagi guessed.

"Hmph. That's a dumb tactic. In close-quarters, we'll easily shoot them down before they can get high enough to pose a threat," Hiryuu said.

Because of that, the ship girls were indeed perplexed when they watched the dive bombers land on the runways. However, something was off, as instead of returning to the Princess, the dive bombers rolled down the runways, gaining speed as they went.

Akagi's eyes widened as she figured out the Abyssal's tactic. "Everyone, get -"

It was too late. Instead of using the gained speed from the runways to take off, the dive bombers instead put all that speed into their horizontal velocity. They did not get very high into the air, but since Akagi, Hiryuu, and Souryuu were so close by, it didn't matter. The dive bombers shot off the runways like rockets and headed straight towards the ship girls. At this range and at that speed, there was nothing they could do.

The explosion that hit Akagi shattered her muneate and blasted her backwards. A fire broke out on her starboard side, and though her Fairies rushed to put it out, the flames still licked at her clothing and skin, sending searing pain through her nerves.

Hiryuu and Souryuu were no better off. One of the dive bombers exploded by Hiryuu's right elbow, almost completely blowing the arm off. Now, the appendage hung loosely from the joints, connected only by a few strands of burnt flesh. The bomber that hit Souryuu resulted in an engine explosion, and she was also on fire and facedown floating on the surface of the ocean.

"It's pathetic how easily you crumble!" Airfield Princess shouted jubilantly, her red eyes blazing and her mouth twisted into a sinister smile. "Now, sink! Die!"

The Princess' gun went off, shooting a large shell towards Akagi. Though she was in bad shape, Akagi was still cognizant enough to know she had to somehow avoid the projectile. The carrier tore off the plate with the katakana for 'A' that hung from her waist and held it up like a shield. The shell impact the makeshift shield and exploded, and with the blast, Akagi also felt a fresh wave of pain. When the smoke cleared, the shield had been reduced to nothingness, and so had her hands. Even so, she was still alive, and her main body was unharmed from the shot.

Hiryuu and Souryuu groaned as they stood up. Souryuu's fire had gone out by now, but Akagi could see large burn marks on her unclothed back, and strips of flesh were peeling away. Hiryuu was the least damaged out of all of them, but she had lost use of her right arm.

"The sight of you three disgusts me. You look half dead," the Airfield Princess snickered. "Well, I guess it wouldn't hurt to play with you a bit more before you sink."

Akagi grit her teeth. _We have no aircraft left, and our bodies have taken too much damage… What do we do?_

She wanted nothing more than to call over Kaga for help, or even the Admiral. However, she knew that they were fighting their own battles. This fight had been entrusted to her and her alone, and she could not push her burden onto others.

 _Well, it worked the first time, so…_

"Airfield Princess! Die!" Akagi yelled her battlecry and then sailed straight at the Abyssal, moving as fast as her engines and her battered body would allow.

"Akagi, what are you doing!" Hiryuu shouted in disbelief.

"Ahahaha! You're suicidal!" the Airfield Princess laughed.

Holding out her hands victoriously, the Airfield Princess fired her Trident Beam at Akagi, and the red laser shot outwards from the beast's maw, rushing to meet the charging carrier. Akagi used the last of her equipment and tore her flight deck off her rigging, holding it out like a riot shield. The laser beam slammed into the flight deck and stalled for a moment, but it quickly smashed right through the equipment. However, Akagi used that split second of bought time to swerve out of the way of the beam.

"Tch. You're really making use of that rigging, huh?" the Airfield Princess muttered in frustration. "Whatever. Come at me, then!"

Akagi reached the Abyssal and threw a right hook at her, but the Princess expected this and caught Akagi's fist with her hand. Akagi knew what the Princess' next move would be, and sure enough, the Princess swung her hips in order to once again trip Akagi using her airstrips. Akagi's prediction allowed her to instead jump over it and plant her feet into the Abyssal's torso, pushing her adversary back. The blow made the Princess stumble a bit, and she threw the same punch again, this time connected and socking the Airfield Princess in the jaw.

By now, Hiryuu and Souryuu had rejoined the fight. Hiryuu grabbed onto the Abyssal's right arm and Souryuu took her left, and the two carriers twisted on cue, breaking both of the Princess' arms.

"Aiiiiegh!" the Abyssal screeched.

Once again, Akagi knew what the Abyssal would do next. This was the second time she was fighting this enemy, and she had learned her battle patterns. Whenever the Airfield Princess was in danger in CQC, she always used her Trident Beam in order to ward off her attackers. With this knowledge, Akagi slipped around behind the Abyssal and pulled her backwards. This caused Akagi to fall back and the Princess to fall on top of Akagi, resulting in Akagi gasping in pain, but she accomplished her goal as the Princess' red laser beam shot harmlessly into the sky.

With a snarl, Hiryuu grabbed the Abyssal and pried her off Akagi, then dunked her head into the ocean. The Princess flailed about, but Hiryuu used her good arm and refused to let go, gritting her teeth in anger and exertion.

Akagi watched with satisfaction. Her clothes were torn and bloodied and her body was beaten and bruised, but if they could sink the Airfield Princess here, it would all be worth it.

* * *

"Fire, fire, fire! Don't let them swarm us!" Zuikaku called out, the flak guns at her hip shooting bursts up into the seemingly-endless Abyssal aircraft squadrons.

"I can't! My anti-air guns have been destroyed!" Graf Zeppelin said, having to shout over the sound of whistling dive bombers and exploding ordinance.

"Then stay outta the fuckin' way!" Intrepid urged as she sailed by Graf. Her anti-air guns had also been destroyed along with much of her flight deck, but her rifle kept on firing into the enemy planes.

Saratoga, one of the few carriers with planes still left in the air, was also firing off sporadic bursts with her flight deck gun. "It seems the enemy's planes are becoming less organized! If we keep this up, we can win!"

"So the First and Second Carrier Divs are actually doing their job, huh," Zuikaku marveled. "Then we can't fail here either! Keep firing!"

"But still, there's only five of us left," Ark Royal brought up. "Everyone else retreated…"

"That makes our role even more important," Zuikaku said.

"This is dumb, though," Intrepid interjected as she reloaded her rifle. "We're just standing here and shooting down planes, hoping that we don't get hit in the process. This kind of strategy is why the others were taken out. Essentially we're just taking our chances that we don't get destroyed before we blow up all the enemy planes."

Zuikaku glared at her. "We were ordered to deal with the Princess' planes. What else would we be doing?"

Intrepid scowled. "If we all attacked the Princess at once, we'd have a better chance of winning. Splitting our fleet up like this is just pointlessly dividing our power."

"Can you two argue another time? We're in the middle of a fight," Graf Zeppelin tried to bring them back on track.

"If we're going to go with the divide tactic, we should split up even more at the very least," Intrepid continued, ignoring the German. "That way the planes won't just rush us as we cluster together."

"That's retarded! Some of us don't even have working AA guns!" Zuikaku countered, growing frustrated with Intrepid's dissent.

"Oh yeah? I think I would know better than someone who's sunk in an air battle before."

Zuikaku lost her temper. "You conceited bitch! Now, of all times -"

The twintailed carrier was interrupted by an underwater explosion. Intrepid was able to sail out of the way, but Zuikaku was not able to escape. The torpedo hits knocked her unconscious or possibly killed her, and when the smoke cleared, she was lying flat on her back, her eyes closed and blood and soot coating her face.

Graf Zeppelin picked her up before she could sink. "See! What did I tell you!"

Intrepid cringed. She did not mean for that to happen.

"Oh, bloody hell," Ark Royal sighed. "Why weren't you two dolts paying attention? Now we're down to four!"

Saratoga sailed over to Intrepid, and she wore a disapproving frown on her beautiful face.

"I-It wasn't my fault," Intrepid insisted.

Saratoga shook her head. "Whose fault it was doesn't matter. Graf, please take Zuikaku and retreat since you no longer have your anti-air guns. The rest of us will manage."

Graf Zeppelin looked reluctant to leave, but someone had to take Zuikaku. " _Ja_. Good luck."

"Well, guess it's just the Allies now," Ark Royal smiled as Graf left with Zuikaku.

Saratoga's blue eyes darkened as she looked at the sky, which was still full of white, spherical planes. "Yes… Just the three of us…"

Intrepid, embarrassed by her own behavior, resolved to make up for it. She aimed her rifle at the sky and fired, downing a plane. However, her bolt-action reload and then her re-aiming took a bit of time, which meant that she didn't really function too well as an anti-air platform.

"The last of my planes was just shot down," Saratoga let the other two know.

Ark Royal shrugged. "Eh, we're in a proper mess now, aren't we? Glad I brought some extra anti-ship arrows, but still…"

"Don't give up," Intrepid insisted. "It's not over until we're all under the waves."

"Can't argue with that," Ark Royal grinned. "Now then, let's -"

She stopped speaking when she noticed that the Abyssal planes were now rushing away from the three carriers and flying off somewhere else, albeit sloppily. Three pairs of blue eyes followed the Abyssal air fleet as the planes began heading towards where Akagi, Hiryuu, and Souryuu were fighting the Airfield Princess.

"Shit!" Intrepid cursed. "We can't let them go!"

The three carriers hurriedly raised their weapons and began firing into the mass of Abyssal planes, but due to the fact that they had no fighters of their own and were reduced to shooting a gun or a bow, they were not quick enough. With worried looks, the three carriers helplessly watched the Abyssal aircraft fly away and out of their reach.

* * *

"Ugh! Just drown already, you bitch!" Hiryuu cried as she continued to shove the Airfield Princess' head under the water. The thrashing and kicking from the Princess and the way her huge rigging moved around made it difficult to keep her there.

"Need some help?" Souryuu asked, sailing over.

Akagi would have joined in as well, but she was extremely tired. She had never had so much damage done to her before, and she had also lost quite a bit of blood. At this point, she just wanted to go back home.

But as Souryuu and Hiryuu tried to finish off the Airfield Princess, Akagi was snapped out of her thoughts by a faint sound. Looking up and behind her, her golden eyes widened in shock as she witnessed a large air force of Abyssal bombers heading towards them.

"N-no… It can't be…"

What had happened to Zuikaku and the others? Why were there still so many bombers left in the skies?

Akagi was too stunned to let Hiryuu and Souryuu know about the approaching planes, but the air force was big enough that the Second Division carriers noticed anyway.

"What the… No way!" Hiryuu said, her jaw dropping.

"T-there's more of them?" Souryuu's face was filled with despair.

"Get your anti-air guns ready!" Akagi called out, snapping out of her state of disbelief due to the adrenaline rushing through her.

"Shit! Fuck this!" Hiryuu grumbled as she grappled with the Airfield Princess, trying to somehow prevent the struggling Abyssal from getting away while also priming her anti-air guns.

"I'll cover you, Hiryuu!" Souryuu quickly sailed in front of her comrade, her AA guns pointed upwards.

 _That's never going to work,_ Akagi thought as she looked at them. _But I guess it doesn't matter… Against this many aircraft, it's…_

The first wave of the airstrike approached. The white spherical planes dove downwards, some of them releasing flaming bombs while the others dropped torpedoes in the water. Though the flak guns of the ship girls pounded the air, they did not have nearly enough volume to stop the enemy planes, and soon the air and water were filled with dangerous explosives.

Torpedoes exploded next to Akagi, dousing her in water and almost knocking her over. Luckily the underwater projectiles did not detonate close enough to do significant damage, but it did not matter since the ocean was soon filled with many more. Akagi sailed away from as many as she could, her anti-air guns blasting all the while, but soon enough, a bomb fell into the water in front of her, exploding and blinding her with a large spray of seawater. That caused her to stop momentarily, and she was then hit by a flurry of torpedoes.

Everything went black around her, and she could hear nothing but a faint buzzing in her head and the sound of rushing water. Akagi gasped and inhaled a lungful of seawater, causing her to cough and sputter as her throat burned. Her vision fortunately returned to her, and she steadied herself on the surface of the ocean on her hands and knees, her rigging and slippers still providing her with some buoyancy. Aches and burns coursed through her body, and she could feel warm blood slipping off her and dripping into the water. She coughed again, expelling some more saltwater. Her face was wet, and even just the motion of moving the hair out of her eyes was so painful that it almost made her throw up.

"Ah…" Akagi tried to speak and call out for Hiryuu and Souryuu, but her throat was so raw that it was useless. In her already broken state, she could not even handle talking.

 _Where are they…_

Akagi's shaky eyes searched the ocean. The airstrike had subsided and the sky was no longer clouded with bombers. A few flaming wrecks of planes and other things could be seen floating about, and Akagi finally found her fellow ship girls.

The Airfield Princess stood with a victorious grin, holding Hiryuu up by her neck. Hiryuu was so bloodied and burnt that Akagi barely recognized her, and it was clear that she was dead. Akagi located Souryuu not too far away from the Princess. Souryuu was surprisingly on her feet, though like the other carriers, she was beat up as well. Akagi could still see the black burns on her back, and streams of blood stained her green shirt.

"G-give her… Give her back," Souryuu managed, glaring at the Airfield Princess.

The Princess said nothing, and her sinister grin only grew wider, revealing the sharp fangs underneath. With the air of someone taking out the trash, the Princess roughly tossed Hiryuu away. The defeated ship girl slowly began sinking, and Souryuu, seeing this, immediately sailed towards her adopted sister as fast as she could.

Akagi, however, kept her eyes on the Princess. A red glow emanated from the jaw attached to the Princess' rigging.

 _No… It's a trap!_

Akagi tried to warn Souryuu, but when she attempted to shout, a sharp pain scraped inside her throat, making her wince.

All Akagi could do was watch helplessly as Souryuu rushed over to Hiryuu's corpse and tried to recover her. Seconds later, the devastating Trident Beam shot out from the Abyssal's rigging. The beam hit Souryuu and Hiryuu, engulfing them both in a red light. The light seemed to grow brighter and more brilliant as it consumed the two ship girls, and when the beam finally dissipated, there was no sign that Hiryuu or Souryuu had ever been in its path. They were gone.

Akagi sat silently, a dumbfounded expression on her face. She wanted to scream or cry, but her body was so damaged that she could do neither, and that only made her even more frustrated.

 _I failed… I failed…_

The Airfield Princess sailed up to Akagi.

"Hehehe…. Hahaha…. Haaa!" the Princess shrieked in laughter, her red eyes glowing and rolling up inside her head. She was in pure ecstasy.

Akagi glared up at the Princess, hate filling her gaze.

"Well, what is it!" Airfield Princess gloated, looking down at Akagi. "You just watched two of your friends die, and you've got nothing to say! Hah! Hahaha!"

Akagi remained mute. She was physically unable to talk, no matter how much she wanted to curse at the Princess. Her body trembled in anger and shock as she was forced to listen to the Abyssal making merry over her the death of her comrades.

"I suppose you're the only one left," the Princess sneered at Akagi. "Hm… Actually, it seems there are a couple more of you sluts still alive. This should do it."

A flurry of white bombers began flying out of the jaw on the Abyssal's rigging, taking flight and heading off to eliminate the last remnants of the ship girl carrier force.

"Now, what to do with you?" the Airfield Princess turned her attention back to Akagi. "You look like utter shit, which is fitting. All that's left to do is stomp out your pathetic life… But you won't be going anywhere, so there's no rush. I'll tell you what, instead of killing you now, I think I'm going to go over to see how your quiet blue friend is doing. I'll bring you her head, and then kill you afterwards!"

 _Kaga… No!_ Akagi tried to say something, but all she could do was gasp and growl at the Abyssal.

The Airfield Princess only laughed at the carrier. She spit in Akagi's face and sailed away.

Humiliated and utterly defeated, Akagi sat silently on the water, slowly rocking with the waves. She already had Hiryuu's and Souryuu's deaths on her conscience, and she didn't need to add her best friend and adopted sister to the list.

 _Kaga, I'm sorry… Please survive._

* * *

For a few minutes after the Aircraft Carrier Princess had sunk, Kaga took a brief respite in order to catch her breath.

 _I wonder how Akagi is doing,_ Kaga thought. _The sounds of battle in the distance are still going on. It looks like they're not done yet._

The destroyers and light cruisers had sailed off a while ago. Many of them had been severely damaged during their rigorous anti-air duty, but luckily, nobody was sunk. But now that the screening ships were all on their way back to the human fleet, that meant that Kaga was left alone. She didn't mind because there were no more enemies in sight, but if Akagi were still fighting, then it would have been nice to have some extra backup.

Having rested enough, Kaga began sailing towards where Akagi's fleet was, albeit at a slow pace. She was definitely not at her full capacity right now, and she had no offensive planes left in her arsenal. With her arm and flight deck missing, she wondered if she could even be of any help to Akagi at this point.

 _Hopefully she is doing fine._

Kaga thought about trying to contact the rest of the fleet, but she decided not to. If they really were in the thick of battle, she didn't want to hinder them. Besides, she would find out how they were doing soon enough.

All in all, Kaga was satisfied with how the battle had gone so far. Of course, she could only speak for her fleet, but still, taking out an Abyssal Princess even after losing almost all their planes was an impressive feat by anyone's standards.

 _I wonder if the Admiral will praise me…_

Kaga blushed, then cringed at herself. What was she doing, thinking something like that?

But that reminded her that she had not heard from Admiral Drake for some time. It was probably because he also didn't want to interfere with her fight when there was nothing more he could do, but there was also the possibility that he was busy with other tasks… She just hoped that the reason why he hadn't contacted her wasn't because he was in danger. Though he had told her beforehand that he would be fine, she knew about his internal fears about the Abyssals. Since she was the only person to know such intimate details about Drake, she took that responsibility seriously. As his secretary ship, Kaga decided that she had to be the one to support him.

But did she only decide that based on her work obligations, or was there something else to it?

Again, Kaga blushed and shook her head. _To have thoughts like that about a superior officer… What is wrong with me!_

Still, Kaga couldn't help but worry. After the initial skirmish which destroyed almost all their planes, she knew that the Admiral must be feeling disappointed at how spectacularly his strategy had failed. Maybe if she told him that she had sunk the Aircraft Carrier Princess, he would cheer up.

 _Yes, I should do that,_ Kaga smiled softly to herself.

She reached up to her earpiece to start the connection, but she stopped midway when she noticed a figure in the distance sailing towards her.

Her breath caught in her throat. It was the Airfield Princess.

 _No… It can't be… Akagi!_

Worried about her closest comrade's safety, Kaga picked up her speed and sailed towards the Airfield Princess. When she got closer, she noticed that the Princess looked extremely beaten up, but if she was still floating, then something obviously went very wrong.

"So you're still alive, eh?" the Airfield Princess smirked. "What, don't tell me that the Aircraft Carrier Princess sunk? What a loser, that dumb bitch! Hahaha!"

"Where is Akagi?" Kaga demanded.

"Oh, that weakling? Don't worry, she's still alive for now… Can't say the same for your other two buddies, though."

Kaga blinked, trying to take in the information. _Does she mean Hiryuu and Souryuu?_

"Anyway, you're the last one," the Airfield Princess continued. "After I kill you, I'm going to inform your Akagi of your death and then sink her as well. You two can join the rest of your filthy _Kido Butai_ at the bottom of the ocean. I'll finally pay you back for last time."

Kaga's stoic countenance broke as her eyes narrowed dangerously and her mouth twisted into a scowl. "You've made your last mistake, Abyssal scum. For the sake of my comrades, I swear I will sink you here and now."

The Airfield Princess' red eye burned with excitement. "Yes! Come and face true despair, then!"

* * *

Shells chased Bismarck as she sailed away from the European Princess, her long blonde hair trailing behind her as bursts of seawater flew upwards from where the shells had detonated.

 _This is bad,_ she thought as her chest heaved. The constant running and working of her engine was beginning to tire her, especially after she had already taken a good amount of damage.

 _Though if it weren't for all the stamina training the Admiral forced us to do, I'm sure I would have sunk a while ago…_

Another volley of shells came hurtling towards her from the Princess' tail, and the German dove to the side to avoid them. She landed awkwardly and her rigging dug into her side a bit, making her bite her lip in pain.

"If you cease your movements, your death will be easier," the Princess stated coldly.

"Urgh… Fuck you," Bismarck spat as she got up.

The Princess blinked her icy blue eyes. "Why do you continue to run? You are only causing yourself more pain in the end. There is nothing you can do to escape being sunk."

Bismarck wanted to argue, but in all honesty, the Princess may be right. Over the course of the battle, she and the Princess had become even more isolated, and there was no chance of someone like Haruna coming over to help her again. And in the open water against a faster opponent, there was no hope of running away and abandoning the fight either.

 _It doesn't matter. The Great Bismarck does not run,_ Bismarck tried to convince herself, but she knew that was a lie. Even in her life as a warship, she had been forced to retreat from battle.

That instance hadn't turned out so well for her in the end. _And neither will this one…_

Bismarck was beginning to feel the familiar sense of defeat creeping up on her. When Ark Royal had destroyed her rudder years ago and she was dead in the water, she had felt the same hopelessness she was feeling right now. There was nothing worse than knowing what was coming but being unable to avoid it. The whole situation was so frustrating that Bismarck just wanted to cry, but she knew that would make her look even more pathetic than she already did.

 _I can't believe it. So I'm going to sink out here, fighting on these foreign seas? Ah, if only I could have walked the streets of_ Deutschland _as a free woman just once…_

" _Bismarck. Are you there?"_

The voice in her ear brought her back to reality. "... Admiral?"

" _Yeah. Haruna just radioed in and said you might need some help. I heard you're fighting the European Princess?"_

"Yes, that's right," Bismarck hurriedly replied. Hearing the Admiral's voice injected hope back into her. "I'm ashamed to admit it, but I'm not doing too well so far…"

" _What's the damage?"_

"My portside is heavily bruised and the guns have been slightly damaged, and my right arm is unusable for the most part. I have been hit numerous times aside from that, but that is the worst of it."

" _All right. And the enemy?"_

"I've broken both her arms, but she is in better shape overall. The only reason I've been able to hold out for so long is because of Haruna's help, but if it continues at this rate, then…"

" _Understood. Haruna gave me a rough idea, but do you know where you are right now? That would help."_

Bismarck frowned. "No, I'm sorry. There aren't even any other ships in sight…"

" _I see… That's going to make this a lot harder. I don't even have a visual on you."_

"I'm sorry… It's hopeless, isn't it?"

The brief hope that Bismarck had felt was beginning to fade.

She heard her admiral sigh. " _Well, it wouldn't do either of us any good to give up. Haruna gave me some specifics about the Princess' attacks and armament, so I can still come up with a basic strategy. It isn't over yet."_

* * *

Drake sat by the console in the situation room, pausing briefly to rub his eyes. This battle was not going the way he thought it would, and the major failure of his original strategy had shaken his confidence. Though Bismarck needed his help right now, he didn't even know if he was good enough to save her. This was one damaged ship girl facing an Abyssal Princess, and it had already been made clear that one Princess' strength was equivalent to that of multiple ship girls'. Was Drake, the officer who almost single-handedly lost the fleet's main source of air power, really smart enough to be of any use here?

 _Doesn't matter,_ he decided. _If I can help Bismarck here, it won't make up for my failure, but it will make me feel a lot better._

"You still there, Bismarck?" he asked into his speaker.

" _Yes, sir."_

"All right, then -"

" _Admiral? Are you there?"_ a new voice cut in.

Drake blinked in surprise. "Hold on for a minute, Bismarck."

The rear admiral then switched the console to receive Kaga's transmission.

"Hello, Kaga?"

" _Ah, hello. Did any of the ship girls return yet?"_

"Uh, no, not yet," he replied, not knowing what she was referring to. He turned to Longfellow, who checked the radar screens again.

"Oh, it looks like some of them are returning," Longfellow confirmed with a smile.

"Okay. Yeah, they should be here soon," Drake then told Kaga.

" _That is good. We have also managed to sink the Aircraft Carrier Princess."_

"Really? Nice." That was the first bit of good news that Drake had received in a while. He was glad that he could rely on Kaga even if he himself had failed… However, he could not be completely happy. "... And what about the casualties?"

Kaga paused. " _There were many injured. I don't know the severity of their injuries. But… Hiryuu and Souryuu were sunk."_

Drake felt a stab of disappointment. He didn't know Hiryuu or Souryuu that well, but they had been a part of the task force that he had led to sink the Airfield Princess back then. Though he recalled that there was a bit of friction there, they still did their duty admirably, and their deaths sent a pang of remorse through him. Either way, he didn't have time to mourn their loss right now, but he was sure that he wouldn't forget about this any time soon…

"Anything else?" Drake asked Kaga, his voice tight with tension.

" _The Airfield Princess is unfortunately still floating,"_ Kaga continued. " _I am about to face her in battle, but we are both alone. We have each taken damage, but I don't think she is in any better shape than I am."_

"So you're alone?" Drake repeated nervously. "Uh, I'll try and send reinforcements, but -"

" _Yes, I am aware that reinforcements may not be available,"_ Kaga said. " _However, I believe I can defeat her by myself in her current state."_

"Do you have any planes left?"

" _I have one, but it's not an offensive one."_

"But I don't remember equipping you with Saiuns or anything…"

" _It is a special plane made for reconnaissance,"_ Kaga informed him. " _Akashi developed it herself and gave it to me to test out since I am serving as your flagship. It can supposedly remotely connect to the consoles of our ships and display a live feed of the battle."_

"Really? That's pretty useful, actually," Drake replied. All of the initial surveillance drones the INFCOM fleet had sent out at the beginning of the battle had been shot down due to the enemy's superior air power.

" _Yes. I think I can win this battle, but I don't think it would hurt to have you watching over me, sir,"_ Kaga said.

Drake was about to agree, but someone else spoke before he could.

" _Admiral! Are you still there?"_ Bismarck broke in shakily. " _Admiral… Please help me!"_

Drake had never heard Bismarck speak with such uncertainty and fear before. For a normally proud and self-assured battleship, the fact that she was directly asking him for help must mean that the situation truly was serious. The image of Bismarck scared and hurt and fleeing from the jaws of death unwillingly popped into his mind, and he grit his teeth. He had almost completely forgotten about her.

" _Admiral? What is it?"_ Kaga asked.

"... I'm sorry, Kaga. Bismarck is also fighting a Princess by herself right now, and I think she really needs my help…"

" _I see. Then please help her,"_ Kaga immediately responded. " _I told you already that I can win this fight alone."_

"But…"

" _Admiral. I am your secretary ship,"_ Kaga stated. " _This may be presumptuous of me, but… I think of you as my partner. And if I am to consider myself that, then you should be able to rely on me."_

In spite of the situation, Drake smiled. "Thank you, Kaga. There's no one else in this fleet I trust more than you. I'll send Bismarck over to assist you later if you haven't already sunk the Princess by then, all right?"

" _Yes, sir!"_


	35. My Promise XI

Bismarck slowly sailed to a stop and put her hands on her knees, taking a moment to breathe. A few wet coughs wracked her throat as her tired blue eyes regarded the European Princess, who had also stopped a fair distance away.

"You are wasting my time," the European Princess said to the ship girl, a disappointed frown on her face.

Bismarck didn't bother responding to that. There was nothing she could say that would convince the Abyssal not to kill her, so no point in wasting energy on words.

" _You still alive, Bismarck?"_

The German's spirits lifted when Drake finally responded again. Normally she would berate herself for such a pathetic feeling, but she was past the point of caring by now.

"Admiral? Are you there?" she immediately latched on.

" _Don't worry, I won't leave you again. We're going to win this fight."_

 _Admiral…_ "Y-yes… But how? I am still -"

" _Leave that part to me. What is the Princess doing right now?"_

Bismarck glanced back over at the Abyssal, who was staring at Bismarck curiously, probably wondering why she was speaking into thin air.

"She's just standing there right now, but…"

" _Okay… Well, since one of your arms is damaged and the Abyssal still has her beast and her tail, CQC is out of the question. We're going to settle this from long range."_

"All right, but I haven't been able to hit her much so far, and my ammunition isn't unlimited," Bismarck cautioned worriedly.

" _Yeah, I get it. Just follow my instructions."_

Her admiral was silent for a bit before he resumed communications.

" _How many shots do you have left?"_

"Three."

" _That's it?"_

"Yes, I was shelling the enemy fleet before I was dragged into this fight with the Princess. Is three not enough?" Bismarck said, slightly panicked.

" _Eh, it'll do. Secondary ammunition?"_

"I've got some of that, but it's not going to do anything against her armor…"

" _I'm aware of that, obviously. For now, our basic strategy is going to be to keep her away from you. Fire your main cannons at her, and if she gets close, open up with your secondary batteries."_

Bismarck frowned. "And then what?"

" _Don't use your final shot. Just fire at her once right now."_

The German battleship was skeptical that this plan would actually work, but she had no choice but to trust her admiral. Aiming her working main guns at the European Princess, Bismarck fired. The resounding report cracked through the air as the shells hurtled towards the Abyssal, but predictably, the Princess easily dodged the attack from this distance. The European Princess then came rushing towards Bismarck, her engines emitting a soft hum as the Abyssal sliced through the water.

Following orders, Bismarck used her secondary armament to pelt her enemy with smaller shells, but as he expected, the move didn't have any effect. Earlier in the fight, the Abyssal had managed to tank shots from Bismarck's main cannons and still keep moving, so this was no surprise.

" _Keep her at a distance,"_ Drake cautioned, though he could not actually see what was going on. " _Sail away from her if you have to."_

 _Damn it, I can't use that much fuel!_ Bismarck clenched her teeth as she nevertheless complied with the command.

The European Princess' tail curled around and shot at Bismarck, but Bismarck was also able to evade, which came as a surprise to her. The Abyssal was relatively close to her now and Bismarck was tired and slower than usual, so she thought she would definitely be hit or at least grazed.

 _Wait, is it my secondaries?_ Bismarck realized. Though the shots from the secondary guns weren't doing much damage, it did make sense. If someone were to pelt you in the face with tiny pebbles, they may not hurt, but they will probably disorient you a bit. In Bismarck's current state, that little reduction in the Abyssal's accuracy was literally life-saving. It seemed like such an obvious thing now that Bismarck had seen it in action, but when faced with the overwhelming firepower and armor of an Abyssal Princess, she did not stop to think about how her superficially useless secondaries could be put to another use. It also didn't help that she was in the middle of the fight and could not pause to formulate a plan.

However, a strategy like this couldn't last forever. Unlike the main guns, the secondaries were able to fire almost continuously, which was good for throwing off the Abyssal's aim but also meant that the ammunition would run out more quickly. Furthermore, Bismarck was only getting more exhausted as time went on, and soon enough, she would be unable to dodge even with the assistance of her secondaries. She said as much to Drake.

" _I know. I'm trying to buy time right now because I need to find your exact location,"_ her admiral told her. " _It shouldn't take_ too _long since I have you on radio comms and Haruna told me around where you were, so just hold on for now… Actually, wait. Is the Princess still chasing you?"_

"Yes, and she's closing in."

" _Stop moving and hard turn to starboard. Brace for impact."_

Understanding what her admiral's intentions were, Bismarck suddenly halted her course and turned so that her portside guns were directly perpendicular to the rushing European Princess. Since the European Princess had already proven that she was good at moving rapidly in linear directions but bad at turning or stopping, the Abyssal was unable to avoid a collision. The European Princess slammed into Bismarck's portside guns, completely crumpling them. The guns were bent out of shape anyway, so it was no big loss for the German. The Abyssal was also not prepared for a collision like Bismarck was, so the sudden impact momentarily stunned her.

" _If you got her, fire!"_ Drake ordered over the radio, but Bismarck didn't need to be told that. She aimed her starboard guns at the Abyssal and let loose her second volley at devastatingly close range.

The shots smashed into the Abyssal and exploded, enveloping her in smoke. Bismarck took the chance to sail out of the Princess' reach, her blue eyes fixed on the Abyssal's location, hoping to see some good damage on her enemy. When the smoke cleared, the Princess was still standing, but cyan blood was pouring out of a few holes that had been created in the Abyssal's armor. The European Princess' eyes burned dangerously, and her pale face disguised fury behind its stony facade.

"She's still standing, Admiral," Bismarck reported, disappointment evident in her tone. "Also, I only have one shot left now."

" _But hopefully that slowed her down,"_ Drake said. " _Looks like the information that Haruna gave me about her movement patterns was useful… Are you all right, though?"_

Bismarck was sore from the hit, but compared to all the other damage she had taken, it was just one more injury to add to the list. "I'm fine, for now at least. But I can't take another hit like that, sir."

Meanwhile, the European Princess was getting ready to aim another shot at Bismarck with both her main guns and her tail cannons. Her stingray beasts buzzed angrily around her, sparking with cyan energy.

 _This is bad… She can fire at me with her main guns and then just hit me right after that with her tail guns if I dodge,_ Bismarck thought. Any more significant damage could be the end for her.

"Admiral, she's getting ready to fire," Bismarck said as she watched the Abyssal intently. "I have to use my final shot now to distract her."

" _Uh, that's a negative, I need you to conserve that shot. Dodge her main cannons, but keep your eyes on the tail. She'll probably not even try and hit you with her first shots and will be mainly focusing on her tail fire."_

 _Yes, I know that much!_ Bismarck thought, frustrated that her admiral didn't give her any more advice than that. Still, she knew there was only so much he could do; she was a battleship with no ammo, and she couldn't even get in close because of the Abyssal's stingrays.

" _Fire your flak guns as hard as fast as you can,"_ Drake suddenly added.

With no time left to question the order, Bismarck dodged the Abyssal's first volley and then began shooting off her anti-air guns, flak bursts exploding in the sky aimlessly. For a split-second, Bismarck wondered why her admiral had made her waste valuable time doing that, but then she understood. As her flak bursts went up in the air, the European Princess took her icy eyes off Bismarck for a brief moment in order to see what the ship girl was shooting at. Though the Abyssal was only distracted for a very short period of time, that pause was enough to allow Bismarck to discern the tail's trajectory and dodge the shots that followed.

 _Hm… So that is his strategy,_ Bismarck figured out. _Both the European Princess and I are World War II battleships, and when we face another battleship in a duel, we know that our main guns are the only thing that can truly damage the other. But the Admiral is different. He is viewing this fight as ship girl versus ship girl, and that is why he is making use of normally useless things like the secondary armament and the flak guns. It has taken the enemy off-guard…_

The European Princess was on her own with no admiral to guide her during the fight, but Bismarck had Drake's orders. Two minds were better than one, especially if one of those minds was thinking outside the box.

" _Bismarck?"_

"I managed to avoid her shots, sir. _Danke_ ," she replied.

" _Okay. Unfortunately I doubt any of the tricks I've used so far are going to work on her again."_

"Yes. So what do we do now?" Bismarck asked, keeping an eye on the Abyssal, who still wore a nonplussed look. "If I can just get one good shot at her -"

" _That's going to be difficult,"_ Drake cut her off. " _You said yourself that she is faster than you. Also, I don't know if your final volley can actually sink her, given that you only have half your guns."_

"Then… It's impossible after all?"

" _No. I told you that I'll take care of it. Right now, I want you to focus on avoiding her shots. Don't worry about how you're supposed to kill her. Leave that part to me, all right?"_

"Yes, sir."

It was funny; only a few months ago, Bismarck would have thought it ridiculous to rely so heavily on someone else, especially an American. But now, when she said those words, she actually meant it. Maybe it was out of desperation, but ever since Drake started issuing commands to her in this fight, the hope that she could get out of this alive began growing with every passing minute. Bismarck was not one to deny reality or pine for unrealistic outcomes, but her admiral had not failed her so far.

" _Sail in a circle around her,"_ Drake told Bismarck. " _Go fast, but don't tire yourself out. If this Abyssal is capable of making rapid linear movements but can't turn around quickly, then this pattern should make you harder to hit."_

Bismarck executed the order and began circling around the Abyssal, training her guns on the Princess all the while. The Abyssal followed Bismarck with her eyes, wondering what the ship girl was up to.

Though the Princess didn't turn to face Bismarck when the German circled around to her back, the tail did. It was much more flexible than the Abyssal's main body, and so it maintained a rough lock on Bismarck's position. The stingrays also followed, but they were too far away to pose any danger to Bismarck. The ship girl thought about firing at the Abyssal when her back was turned, but she knew that the sound of her cannons firing would alert the Abyssal, and then the European Princess could just sail as fast as she could in a straight line, causing the shots to fall short. Essentially, the two combatants were in a stalemate, with neither side willing to make the first move.

 _Another strategy to buy time,_ Bismarck thought, and the European Princess was fine with that. That made sense for the Abyssal because Bismarck was the one who would collapse from exhaustion first, but Bismarck was not sure why her admiral was making her waste time like this.

 _He said he was trying to locate my position, so perhaps he is sending reinforcements? But I heard that the enemy carrier forces eliminated our airpower, so surely the other girls must not be in any shape to help, if they are even still alive…_

" _Make sure never to get directly in front of her or else she could rush you,"_ Drake cautioned as Bismarck continued to circle around. " _Don't just go in the same pattern. She's probably watching you and looking for that opportunity."_

Following that advice, Bismarck stopped for a moment and then reversed course, which caused the Abyssal to to blink in confusion.

 _I must look so stupid right now from her point of view,_ Bismarck grumbled in her mind, but if looking dumb was the price she had to pay to stay alive, then she supposed she didn't mind.

" _So what's she doing?"_ Drake asked after a short period of silence.

"Nothing, just watching me again," Bismarck answered.

The standoff continued. At this point it was really just her admiral fighting the European Princess through proxy, and Bismarck could tell that both of them were trying to figure out their opponent's next move.

Suddenly, the Princess erupted forwards and sailed at Bismarck at maximum speed, her stingrays buzzing angrily around her as they glued themselves to the Abyssal's rigging.

"She's coming, sir!" Bismarck quickly alerted Drake. Since she had been avoiding getting the Abyssal's direct path, she had some time to maneuver, but not much.

" _Don't bother moving. Aim your anti-air guns and shoot down those stingrays."_

That was a difficult order to follow when an Abyssal Princess was rushing straight at you, but Bismarck held her position nonetheless. Her azure eyes burned with concentration as she toggled her Flakvierling to fix on the stingrays.

Although the Princess continued to get closer, Bismarck was not worried. This was the same strategy the Princess had used earlier; the Abyssal would feint a ramming attack and would instead use it as an opportunity to hit Bismarck with the stingrays and immobilize her for a coup de grace with the main cannons. Evidently her admiral had also realized this, and that was why he told her not to dodge. Since Bismarck was not even in the Abyssal's direct path, it would be nearly impossible for the European Princess to ram her at that speed, so there was no need to dodge. Instead of attempting to evade, Bismarck could use that time to properly aim her anti-air guns at the small beasts that hovered around the Princess.

Sure enough, as the Princess sped past Bismarck, the stingrays came darting out. This time the ship girl was ready. Though the stingrays converged on her position, her AA guns shot their flak bursts and blew up the stingrays before they could reach her. Shocked, the European Princess turned around, her eyes wide at the failed attack. With a snarl, the Princess aimed all of her guns at Bismarck and released a full volley.

Bismarck was of course expecting this, and so she sailed out of the way fairly easily. Unfortunately for her, the Princess then rushed at her again, which she was not expecting. Given the European Princess' bad maneuverability, the charge missed, but the sudden rush almost threw Bismarck off her feet. Panting with exertion, Bismarck refocused her attention on the Princess, who sailed straight at her for the third time in quick succession.

This attack also missed, but Bismarck's heart was starting to beat faster and the brushes with the Abyssal were getting much closer. _I see… Although she cannot hurt me anymore with those rush attacks because she has lost her beasts, she can still easily tire me out. And that is what she has realized._

" _Bismarck, what happened?"_

"Admiral, it looks like she has decided to turn this into a close-range fight. Though your strategy allowed me to destroy her beasts, it also allowed her to close the distance."

" _Yeah, I thought that might happen. How much longer can you engage in evasive maneuvers for?"_

Bismarck barely sailed past another one of the Abyssal's blitzes. "Not much longer!"

To her surprise and annoyance, Drake merely laughed at that.

"Admiral?! Please tell me what is so funny!" she shouted into her earpiece, exasperated.

" _You've done a good job so far, Bismarck. Fire your cannons at that Abyssal bitch."_

"But I'll miss," Bismarck replied, glad that she could finally fight back, but also wondering why she would shoot now of all times.

" _Just fire. Your goal is to get some distance between you two."_

That made sense since CQC was ending badly for Bismarck right now, but after that, then what? If she fired the last of her ammo, then even in a long-range battle, she would still lose. Nevertheless, she had no other course but to follow orders, and so she aimed her main starboard guns at the European Princess, causing the Abyssal to flinch and redirect herself to evade the shot.

The moment before Bismarck fired, she thought she heard a faint hissing sound, but that was quickly drowned out by the report of her guns. But, as expected, the European Princess was able to slide to the side and sail past the shells, and Bismarck's final volley of armor-piercing shells fell harmlessly into the water in the distance.

" _Get rid of your rigging and get the hell out of there, Bismarck,"_ Drake then ordered before Bismarck could even ask for new instructions.

"W-what?" Bismarck said out loud, but her admiral sounded serious, so she complied and detached her main guns and most of her rigging, which quickly fell into the water and began sinking below the waves.

Now left with just her sailing shoes, Bismarck turned away from the Abyssal and sped off in the opposite direction, not knowing where she was going or even why she was sailing away in the first place. But the hissing noise that she had heard right before she fired had gotten louder and more distinct, and Bismarck looked up to see what appeared to be seven missiles rapidly descending from the sky like arrows sent from the heavens. Understanding why Drake had told her to escape and glad that she had gotten rid of her heavy guns, Bismarck picked up the pace and gathered up the dregs of her stamina in order to flee the blast zone.

Still, she couldn't help but turn her head in order to see what the European Princess was doing. Though the missiles were coming down fast and the Princess was thrown off-balance by Bismarck's shot, the Abyssal somehow managed to right herself enough to shoot down two of the missiles. However, because of the close proximity of the missiles to the Abyssal, the Princess' efforts were in vain as she was swallowed up by the explosions she created. Shortly after that, the other five missiles slammed into the Abyssal in quick succession, and the European Princess was engulfed in an enormous fireball.

Though Bismarck was rushing out as fast as she could, she was still close enough to feel the heat of the explosion on her back, and the blastwave knocked her off her feet and sent her flying a few meters. Moaning in pain but alive, Bismarck stood up and glanced back towards where the Abyssal was. The area was smoldering and the waves were churning tumultuously, but there was no more trace of the European Princess.

* * *

" _Admiral… I think she has been sunk,"_ Bismarck's breathless voice informed Drake through his comms.

Drake let out a sigh of relief. "All right. Good work, Bismarck."

"Nein _, it is you who deserves the praise,"_ Bismarck replied gratefully.

Drake was surprised to hear Bismarck actually complimenting him outright like that and in such a sincere tone. Despite all the failures of the day so far, he actually smiled a bit. _I'm glad I could save her, at least._

" _So I presume those ships I see on the horizon were the ones who fired those missiles?"_ Bismarck then asked.

"Yeah, they're American destroyers. How are you feeling?"

" _M-Me? I'm fine for now, I think…"_

"Then I'm sorry to do this to you, but I need you to go over to these coordinates I'm going to give you. Kaga is also fighting an Abyssal Princess by herself, and I know you're tired, but I think she could use any help she can get."

" _Roger that. I will go,"_ Bismarck said, undaunted.

Drake then gave her the coordinates and told her to follow the same path that the destroyers had used to get there since there were no Abyssals on that route. It would take a while for Bismarck to get to Kaga, but Drake hoped that Kaga could finish things before then.

 _Oh, right, I should probably ask and see if there's anything I can do for her,_ Drake thought, deciding to contact Kaga in spite of the fact that she may be in mid-battle.

But before he could reach for the console, the sound of sirens suddenly blared through the situation room, startling everyone.

" _AIR RAID IMMINENT. STANDBY FOR AIR DEFENSE PROTOCOL."_

Drake frowned nervously after hearing the robotic female voice call out the programmed response over the loudspeakers.

"So they've penetrated this far into our fleet too…" Lieutenant Commander Longfellow noted with a tense expression.

This situation was not entirely unexpected to Drake, but he had hoped that it wouldn't come to this. The moment he sent the screening destroyers away to help Bismarck was also the moment when the Abyssals attacking those destroyers could now break through and attack the carrier directly.

" _ACTIVATING LASER DEFENSE. LAUNCHING SEA SPARROW… SEA SPARROW FAILED. LASER DEFENSE FAILED. ALL HANDS, BRACE FOR IMPACT."_

Almost before the program had even finished speaking, the ship rocked with a rolling bounce, tossing a few officers to the ground. Drake clutched onto the console and barely maintained his balance.

 _Shit… This is bad,_ Drake realized. _But we can't sink now. Not if Kaga is still out there fighting!_

Rushing over to the telephone, Drake picked it up and waited as the phone automatically connected to the bridge.

" _Yes, hello?"_ a masculine voice said from the other end, which indicated that it was some other officer and not Admiral Belle.

"We're under air attack. Get those planes in the sky," Drake told him. He was unsure if he should really be using such an authoritative tone given that the person on the other end could very well be a vice admiral or something, but with the situation as it was, it probably didn't matter that much.

" _Yes, it's blatantly obvious that we're under air attack, thank you,"_ the other officer snorted. " _Our squadrons are already in the air, but they are unlikely to hold the Abyssals off for very long. Therefore, Admiral Belle is taking our ship out of this area."_

"But the ship girls haven't come back yet!" Drake protested.

" _What? We're going to die if we stay here. Get a grip, sailor,"_ the voice admonished before hanging up.

Drake grit his teeth and slammed the phone back into its receiver. "Fuck you too."

"What do we do now?" Longfellow asked worriedly.

"Well, we can at least -"

"Enemy submarines off starboard!" one frightened ensign suddenly yelled out from his position by the window which looked out onto the ocean.

The situation room erupted in muttering and angry exclamations for a few seconds before another explosion hit. This one was much worse than the first, and it almost felt like someone had lifted the whole ship out of the water and then slammed it back down on the waves. Drake fell back against the bulkhead, and he got hit from the front too as Longfellow was tossed into his stomach by the explosion.

"Urgh… Oh, no! I'm sorry, sir!" Longfellow quickly apologized, her freckled face heating up in embarrassment.

"Christ," Drake muttered as he slowly stood back up. He scanned the room and saw many of the other officers also getting to their feet, so it appeared that at least in this area of the ship, no one was seriously injured.

"Fuck this. I have to see what's going on myself," Drake decided, heading off towards the bridge.

Longfellow followed him out like a scared puppy. Normally it would be bad for the second-in-command to leave along with the commander, but it was clear that this was her first taste of actual combat, and Drake kind of felt bad for her.

Drake stormed through the passageways and into the one that led to the stairs up to the bridge, but he was stopped short when he saw a figure blocking his path. A tall, pale-skinned Ne-class Abyssal stood in front of him, her only visible blue eye burning with Abyssalized energy. The heavy cruiser did not have her rigging, but she still struck a fearsome image with her black half face mask and her dark, steel armored leggings.

Longfellow gasped at the sight, and Drake froze in fear. Once again, he was face-to-face with an Abyssal.

* * *

Kaga slid past the spread of an enterprising torpedo bomber, her sailing shoes slicing across the ocean and throwing up a spray as she backpedaled. She managed to avoid being blown up, but just barely. To make matters worse, the Airfield Princess still had a handful of planes up in the air that were prepared to attack at any moment.

"Still fighting even when you're missing an arm?" the Airfield Princess grinned savagely. "You look like you could fall over and sink at any moment."

"I could say the same to you," Kaga countered.

"Haha! I guess we both are sitting on the edge right now, huh?" the Abyssal admitted. "But unlike you, I still have planes. What use is an aircraft carrier without her air wing?"

"I am not merely an aircraft carrier anymore," Kaga said. "And that is something that you Abyssals cannot seem to understand. You are so hung up on past failures and tragedies that it has made you blind to the future. That is why your companion was sunk."

The Airfield Princess scoffed at that. "Yeah, right. She was sunk because she was weak! Just like in all wars, the weak suffer!"

Kaga shook her head. "No. The only ones who suffer are the weak-minded, and you Abyssals are the perfect example of that. You claim your hatred makes you strong, and yet can you say that you are happy right now? You are tortured on the inside, all of you. Any victory you achieve on the battlefield will be hollow, because you can never defeat the demons that plague your conscience."

"Nice psychoanalysis, but none of the bullshit you just spewed is going to save you from having your limbs strewn about these waters when I'm done with you," Airfield Princess growled.

The white Abyssal bombers hovered threateningly overhead, and Kaga was all too aware of the fact that she was in no shape to fight against them right now. At least her anti-aircraft guns still worked.

The first dive bomber came rushing down at her. Kaga aimed her hip-level AA guns and shot it down, but another came screaming after her immediately following that. Taking out her last arrow which contained the surveillance plane, Kaga used the projectile as a weapon and smashed the tip of the arrow into the dive bomber, causing it to blow up prematurely. The explosion sent her sprawling back, but the plane did not get to release its full explosive power, and so Kaga was relatively unharmed from the blast.

The Airfield Princess looked frustrated that her attacks kept failing.

"Why won't you just die already? All your comrades have been defeated, and I am sure your little human friends are being annihilated as we speak. You have nothing left to fight for."

Kaga smirked at her. "Again you underestimate us. You think that killing a few of us will make us lose our resolve? You say you understand the dark nature of humans, but you are completely blind to their true strengths. Back during the War, my country fought until their backs broke, and then they fought some more after that. You're a fool if you think that one defeat, no matter how major it is, can ever stop us from resisting you."

"I'll shut that mouth of yours for good!" the Airfield Princess declared in anger, sending her final four planes to attack.

 _This is it. If I can stop these four aircraft, then she will no longer have the advantage over me,_ Kaga thought. Her entire body ached and the cauterized hole where her arm used to be burned with pain, but she knew that she had to finish the fight. She promised her admiral that she would win, after all.

As the first white bombers came towards her with their flaming mouths, Kaga stood her ground and aimed her AA guns up. The Airfield Princess manually controlled the bombers to avoid the flak bursts this time, and they swerved past the white bursts in the sky. Frowning at the missed shots, Kaga sailed backwards as the planes descended. They appeared to be one dive bomber and one torpedo bomber, which meant that Kaga would have to watch from both above and below. Simultaneously, the torpedo bomber dipped low to drop its spread while the dive bomber hurtled towards her.

Instead of trying to avoid the hits, which would be impossible, Kaga leapt forwards, over the torpedo spread, and delivered a midair roundhouse kick to the dive bomber, once again causing it to explode prematurely. However, since this time she struck with her own body instead of an arrow, she felt the explosion much more acutely, and she fell back on the water's surface with a grunt of pain. The explosion had ripped off her thigh-high sock as well as some of the skin on her leg, but the last of her adrenaline allowed her to stand back up and face the last two bombers.

The pair of white Abyssal planes approached, and Kaga's golden eyes watched them tear through the air and rush towards her. Years of dogfighting experience and her time spent in the archery range allowed her to track the planes despite their fast speed, and the aircraft carrier prepared herself for the final test. Before the first bomber could reach her, Kaga turned hard to port. Naturally, the plane followed her, and the second plane followed them both. Kaga then stopped and immediately turned to starboard, abruptly changing her direction. The first plane stopped as well and tried to change direction, but the sudden stopping caused the second plane to ram right into the first plane, which made them both explode in mid-air.

Debris rained down from above, and Kaga watched the fireworks with satisfaction. The hard turning was bad for both her knees and her equipment, but it had to be done. It was clear that the Airfield Princess was in a rush to kill her, probably because the Abyssal herself was on the brink of exhaustion. However, that meant that the Princess would be paying more attention to speed rather than maneuverability, and Kaga took advantage of that in order to destroy both planes. As an aircraft carrier herself, Kaga knew it was difficult to accurately control multiple planes at the same time, especially if you were tired. That proved to be true for the Airfield Princess as well, apparently.

"So you destroyed them too, huh," the Airfield Princess noted, surprisingly not as angrily as Kaga thought.

The Princess herself had nothing left with which to hit Kaga with. Both her arms were clearly broken, and the cannon atop her beast was bent out of shape as well. Her planes appeared to be depleted, and the only weapon that remained to her was her Trident Beam, which had no hope of connecting due to its long charge time.

The two combatants stared at each other, unmoving. Both of them looked ready to collapse, and both had also already killed today. Nevertheless, resolution burned in their eyes, and it was evident that neither was willing to walk away from the battlefield.

The Airfield Princess' usual sinister expression broke for a moment. "... I wonder how it is."

Kaga blinked. "What?"

"Being a ship girl," the Abyssal continued. "The immense joy that I get from sinking my opponents… Is it possible to feel that joy from other things too?"

The faint sound of planes could be heard overhead, and the noise grew closer with every passing second. With a shock, Kaga turned to see two Abyssal planes heading towards her and the Princess.

 _Impossible! If she had more bombers, she would have used them by now!_ But either way, even if she did have more bombers, Kaga was confident that she possessed the strength to destroy them like she did to the others.

However, the planes that were approaching actually seemed to be fighters, and they were carrying an object in each of their mouths. To Kaga's surprise, the Abyssal fighters brought with them Intrepid's rifle and Saratoga's tommy gun, and the spherical planes descended with the weapons and placed them within reach of the Airfield Princess, who took the guns into her hands. The fighters then floated underneath the Princess' arms and began ascending, making the Princess raise her arms into firing position despite the fact that her bones had been broken. The Airfield Princess' face contorted in agony at the maneuver, but the determination in her eyes did not fade.

"Hehehe… Maybe in a different life, no?" the Princess managed as she smirked at Kaga. Then, she fired.

Four streams of anti-ship bullets sliced through the air and shot towards Kaga. The guns from the fighter planes were relatively weak, but Intrepid's and Saratoga's guns were made for damaging Abyssals, and so they would do a fair amount of damage to Kaga too.

 _Damn it, my anti-air guns are useless here!_ Kaga cursed as she tried to sail away from the bullets. The Airfield Princess herself could still move, though, and she turned her body in order to follow Kaga and keep the four bullet streams trained on the ship girl.

Kaga had no defensive or offensive abilities remaining. A bullet ripped through her side, causing her to wince in pain as a burst of blood erupted from the hit. She was then peppered by fighter fire before some of the tommy guns' shots tore into her, stinging a line into her back.

 _I'm dead at this rate,_ Kaga realized. _I have to get in close… It's dangerous, but it is the only way out now._

Kaga turned around and charged at the Abyssal, zigzagging her movement in order to avoid the guns. But approaching the Princess also ensured that the Abyssal's aim got better, and the Airfield Princess adjusted her plane underneath the arm that held the Springfield in order to take a shot at Kaga's already injured leg. The bullet hit and disabled Kaga's kneecap, sending the carrier sputtering onto the ocean's surface.

With a sense of mortal urgency, Kaga tried to get back up, but one of her legs had been almost completely destroyed now. Even so, she forced herself to stand even as the Abyssal continued firing. Blood poured out of the numerous holes that had been punched into her, but Kaga fixed her gaze on her enemy again and prepared to end this.

But instead, what she saw was a red glow shooting straight towards her.

Kaga could not even move to avoid it now. _So she knew that I would try and stand up again, huh… If I just stayed down, the laser might have just shot over my head._

Before she could even finish that thought, Kaga was pierced by the Trident Beam, and the red beam of Abyssal energy tore a hole through her stomach before dissipating. The attack was clearly not as powerful as a fully-charged Trident Beam, but given Kaga's current state, it was more than enough.

Miraculously, Kaga remained on her feet even as her vision dimmed. _But… I promised…_

A final shot rang out from the anti-ship rifle, and the bullet entered Kaga's chest and exited through her back. The ship girl fell and slipped beneath the waves.

Darkness enclosed Kaga as the cold ocean swallowed her. The light from the surface grew farther and farther away, and her golden eyes remained fixed on those last vestiges of sunlight that only shone for those on the world above.

 _Akagi… Admiral Drake… I'm so… Sorry…_

And Kaga sunk, slowly dragged down into the depths.


	36. Blue Ribbon I

"H-how… How did it g-get in here?" Longfellow stuttered, staring in horror at the Ne-class Abyssal that stood in the middle of the passageway.

The most likely scenario was that the Abyssal advance had gone deeper into their fleet than they thought, and that perhaps this specific Abyssal was a member of a naval commando squad sent to specifically eliminate the command structure of the human and ship girl fleet.

But Drake did not say any of that to Longfellow, because he was far too shocked to speak. The heavy cruiser's haunting blue eyes pierced through the American admiral, and terrible memories of the Battleship Princess' red glare resurfaced in his mind. It was as if the Abyssal were Medusa, and Drake had been turned to stone.

Luckily, Longfellow retained some of her senses, and she pulled out her sidearm and pointed it at the Abyssal. Her hands were shaking uncontrollably and sweat trailed down her freckled face, but she resolutely stood up to the Abyssal.

"G-Get out of here! Get out or I'll shoot!" she warned the Ne-class.

The Abyssal said nothing. Instead, the heavy cruiser began advancing on the pair, her metal boots clanking on the floor as her burning eye switched to target Longfellow.

Gasping in fear when the Abyssal advanced, Longfellow fired her weapon. The first shot missed, but the young officer desperately popped off a few more, and some of those did impact the Abyssal. However, though the bullets appeared to have penetrated the Abyssal's skin, the Ne-class was unaffected, and she kept advancing regardless. Longfellow's eyes grew wide and she fired again and again until her clip clicked empty, but the Ne-class continued walking.

It was at this time that Drake finally dragged himself out of the recesses of his memories and returned to reality. _There are people counting on me… I can't die here!_

Like Longfellow, he too pulled out his handgun and aimed it at the Abyssal. Unlike her, however, Drake forced himself to breathe and maintain his composure despite the intense, primal fear he felt. Closing one of his eyes and taking aim, Drake fired at the Abyssal, aiming for her head. The first shot hit her face but only bounced off her mask, causing her to flinch but doing no damage otherwise. Changing tactics, Drake instead aimed at where he thought her heart was and squeezed the trigger a few more times. The bullets found their target, and tiny squirts of cyan blood sprayed into the air. When this also caused the Abyssal to pause briefly, Drake thought he had hit his mark, but the Ne-class regained her stride shortly after.

 _So handguns won't work here,_ Drake realized. That was probably an obvious conclusion, but he had to give it a shot. He thought maybe shooting her eye out might have an effect, but that was a small spot on a moving target and Drake wasn't _that_ confident in his aim.

"Sir, we have to run," Longfellow decided, eyeing the advancing Abyssal with a shaky look.

"Y-yeah," Drake agreed.

With that, the two officers turned tail and sped away from the Abyssal. They were going in no particular direction, and all they knew was that they had to get as far away from that creature as they could. However, the sounds of the heavy cruiser's boots on the flooring grew louder and more intense, and the Americans knew that she was chasing after them in earnest now.

 _Shit! Get me out of here!_ Drake pleaded to no one in particular as he heard the Abyssal approaching.

Drake and Longfellow eventually found themselves in front of a staircase that descended belowdecks. Drake remembered that one of the armory rooms was located on the level below them, so he went down the stairs as fast as he could and tried to push open the door. However, he was met with resistance.

"What the fuck! Why won't it open!" he shouted in frustration and fear as he tried to force it open.

"Admiral, hurry! She's here!" Longfellow shrieked in his ear.

Drake caught a glimpse of the Ne-class at the top of the staircase, and his efforts to shove open the door were redoubled. Longfellow tried to add her strength to the task too by slamming her body weight against the door, which actually managed to open it. The door flung open and Longfellow fell through it, landing on her face. Drake stepped over her and continued running, his mind overwhelmed by the instinct to escape. It was only a second later that he realized that Longfellow wasn't following him, and he stopped in his tracks to help her up.

By this time, however, he was too many steps away from her to immediately reach her… But the Abyssal wasn't. Drake watched as the Ne-class lifted Longfellow up by the neck, her pale, white hand wrapping itself around the lieutenant commander's throat. Longfellow kicked her legs helplessly as the Abyssal lifted her up, and her hands tried in vain to weaken the heavy cruiser's grip. The young officer's terrified eyes found their way to Drake, and tears welled up in them as she silently begged him to help.

A split-second later, the Ne-class bashed Longfellow's head against the bulkhead, smashing her skull open and painting the walls and floor with blood and pieces of bone and gray matter. The Ne-class dropped the half-headless corpse and then turned her single empty, icy eye onto Drake once more.

Drake ran harder than he ever had before, again just blindly trying to put some distance between himself and the Abyssal.

 _Damn it!_ He cursed to himself. _Just like last time… These Abyssals… They always make me feel so helpless!_

The rear admiral soon found himself below decks, but what was surprising to him was that there were no sailors around. He guessed many of them were up above decks or in or around the bridge or in the engine rooms. Maybe that was for the best since they would just end up as victims of the Ne-class if they were down here anyway.

The clanking of the Abyssal's heels told of her approach once again, and Drake was reminded of the horrible sight of Longfellow's death. Panic struck through him as he realized there was nowhere to run anymore. The only place left to go was…

Drake sprinted to the ship girl holding area. Slamming open the door, he ran inside the large, empty room and hurriedly flipped the switch to open the bay door. Jumping out into the waters in the middle of a battle with the Abyssals was a suicidal move, but if the other option was certain death at the hands of the Ne-class, then he didn't really have a choice. He had to take the chance.

The Ne-class ran into the room shortly after Drake, and the American froze in fear again when he saw her. However, he knew he that this was his only chance to escape. He ran towards the water that was beginning to spill inside and prepared to dive in, but then he hesitated. He completely forgot that Abyssals could sail on water just like ship girls, and that the Ne-class could just catch up to him easily even if he tried to swim away. The Abyssal was without her rigging right now, but she still had on her metal boots, so could she still sail with them?

Unfortunately for Drake, that moment he spent hesitating was enough for the Abyssal to close the distance. The Ne-class lunged at Drake, and he reflexively dodged and ran away from her. The Ne-class then reached out with her boot and tripped him, causing him to fall before he could get far enough away. In desperation, Drake pulled out his pistol again and fired every last bullet in his clip at the Abyssal from where he lay on the ground.

As expected, the attacks did nothing and just made the Ne-class flinch, but Drake took that opportunity to get up off the ground and drop into his CQC stance. _If she's like a ship girl, then I may have a chance…_

There was no running now, and though he was afraid, Drake refused to go out like a coward. Not when his own soldiers will still out there, fighting.

The Ne-class' expression did not change when Drake stopped running, and she merely approached him again. This time, however, Drake did not try and run, and instead, he rushed at her, slipped under her grip, and rammed his right shoulder into her. To his surprise, the attack actually caused her to stumble, and he then grabbed her and lifted her up. Without her rigging, she was actually not much heavier than Suzuya, and Drake tossed the Abyssal with all his might and sent her crashing against the bulkhead.

Stunned, the Ne-class slowly stood back up. Aside from the shock of Drake's sudden retaliation, though, the Abyssal looked to be unharmed. Drake frowned at that. There was no way he was going to kill her simply by beating her up; he needed to somehow choke the life out of her or penetrate her heart or brain. The latter two options were out of the question, so he would instead need to find some way to incapacitate her so that he could then crush her trachea. That was definitely not going to be an easy task.

As the Abyssal glared at him with her burning cyan eye, Drake recalled the conversation he had with his father before the battle. The image of his mother and other family members like Lira also filled his mind, and now that he was standing here facing down this Ne-class, he wondered if he would ever get to see them again.

 _Well, doesn't matter. At least they can't say I went down without a fight,_ Drake convinced himself. If he died here, fighting this Abyssal, he wondered if the citizens of Tangier would forgive him. Would they praise him for standing up and not running from death? Or would they curse him and say that their sacrifice wasn't worth it after all if Drake couldn't even kill one enemy heavy cruiser?

Human and Abyssal stared each other down, one of them scared and desperate while the other prepared to kill with calculated efficiency. But the two combatants looked away from each other when a third figure entered the battle. Slowly, Shoukaku's bloody, beaten form sailed into the holding area through the open bay door. The white-haired carrier blinked her tired golden eyes in surprise when she saw her commander facing off against a lone Abyssal.

"A… Admiral?" she questioned, wondering if she was hallucinating.

"Shoukaku?"

The carrier then turned to the Ne-class cruiser, who was regarding her warily. Shoukaku detached what little of the damaged rigging she had left and walked out of the water.

"I am not sure what is going on, but I doubt you are welcome here," Shoukaku said, facing the Abyssal.

"Ship girl… Do you want do die defending this human?" the Ne-class asked in a raspy voice that sounded like it was being muffled by something. It was the first time Drake had heard the Abyssal speak.

"I would rather die than allow you to harm any of my comrades," Shoukaku replied. "My arrival has sealed your fate, Abyssal."

While Drake was thankful for Shoukaku's sudden appearance, he was also slightly worried that she would lose. The carrier did not look healthy at all, and there were burn marks and bloodstains all over her battered body. Drake cursed himself at wasting all his handgun ammunition. If he still had his sidearm, he could at least be useful as a distraction.

 _Wait, the armory!_ That was the whole reason he had even came down here in the first place.

"Shoukaku, hold her off for a few minutes. I'll be right back!" Drake yelled to his ship girl as he ran out of the room.

Hoping that Shoukaku would be all right, Drake hurriedly tried to remember where the armory was located. He ran through the hallways and searched until he came across what appeared to be the entrance. He rarely entered the armory room even on his own ships so he didn't know if they would have anything good, but anything would be a great help at this point. For some reason the door to the armory looked like it had been forcibly ripped off, but Drake was not going to worry about that right now. On the walls of the armory were some M4A1 rifles and a few other handguns, but what caught Drake's attention the most were the machine guns and the lone SMAW rocket launcher that rested next to them. Drake had never really used any of those heavier weapons extensively, but he knew they would be more effective than any regular rifle or handgun.

Deciding to take the gamble, Drake grabbed the SMAW after loading it with one of the two missiles provided for it. He knew running through the passageways with a loaded rocket launcher was not a good idea safety-wise, but time was of the essence. Drake made it back to the holding area, where he saw Shoukaku grappling with the Ne-class. Shoukaku was clenching her teeth with exertion, and she looked ready to collapse at any moment. The Ne-class, on the other hand, did not appear to be fatigued at all.

"Stand back, Shoukaku!" Drake shouted as he dropped down onto a knee from the far end of the room and look through the sights to take aim at the Abyssal.

Through the scope, he could see Shoukaku turn to look at him and then detach herself from the Abyssal, but before she even finished doing that, Drake fired his weapon. He only had one shot, and he couldn't risk missing. In loud flash, the missile shot through the air and smashed into the Ne-class, blowing her up. Shoukaku was also thrown backwards by the explosion since she didn't have a lot of time to get away.

Tossing the empty SMAW onto the ground, Drake rushed over to the scene. The Ne-class lay on the floor, her body charred, but she was still moving. Shoukaku was not, however, so Drake had to finish the job himself. He jumped on top of the Ne-class and grabbed her throat with all his strength, his muscles bulging underneath his uniform. The Ne-class weakly choked, and she reached up to try and force Drake off. Drake was too overcome by adrenaline and rage too even register her attempts, and he only squeezed even harder. Soon after, the life in the Abyssal's cyan eye faded.

Drake then turned to Shoukaku. Her eyes were closed and she was lying on her back, her clothes ripped and her body bruised and broken. Just from a glance, Drake couldn't tell if she was unconscious or dead, but either way, he needed to get her to the ship girl repair area inside the ship. Trying not to hurt her even more, Drake gingerly picked her up in his arms and carried her out of the room. He at least knew where the repair area was, so he wouldn't have to blindly search for it like he did for the armory.

But as Drake made his way through the passageways and towards the large repair room, he again noticed a disturbing lack of personnel. He knew they were in the middle of a battle and that people were busy, but there was no way that there would be _nobody_ over here. Slightly confused, the rear admiral turned the corner and saw the slumped over body of a sailor sitting against the wall. There was a large hole in his chest, and a streak of blood was painted on the bulkhead behind him.

 _What the…_

Moments later, he spied the figure of a Ri-class heavy cruiser emerge from the other end of the passageway. The cruiser was clad in very little clothing, revealing her sickly pale skin, and her burning cyan eye contrasted with her otherwise drab colors.

 _Fuck! I should have known that the Ne-class wouldn't be alone!_

As the Ri-class strode towards him, Drake put Shoukaku down next to the dead sailor. He wouldn't be able to outrun the Abyssal and pick up a new weapon in the armory if he had to carry Shoukaku the whole time, but he also couldn't just drop her and run for it himself. Instead, his only choice was to make a stand here and defeat the Abyssal, or at least hope that someone would come and save him again. Ri-classes were generally weaker than Ne-class Abyssals, so Drake was hoping that he would be able to stand a chance this time… But he knew that was a longshot.

He glanced at the sailor's corpse and hoped it had a weapon on it, but there was nothing. Cursing to himself again, Drake dropped into his CQC stance and prepared to fight the Abyssal off with his fists. The Ri-class blindly charged at him, and Drake again was able to outmaneuver his enemy. Luckily, it appeared that these Abyssal commandos hadn't been trained in any form of CQC. Ducking under the Abyssal's lunge, Drake kicked her hard in the side of her knee, causing her to lose her balance. He then jumped on top of her and tried to strangle her like he did with the Ne-class, but the Ri-class managed to push him off. He tried to regain his balance, but the Abyssal retaliated with a kick of her own. Drake jumped backwards, knowing that a full-strength hit from an Abyssal would probably kill him or at least do severe damage.

However, since he had to react so quickly, he lost his balance again and stumbled backwards. Instead of slamming into the bulkhead or tripping over his feet, Drake found himself steadied by a pair of strong arms. Confused, he looked back and saw a familiar face but not one he expected to see here of all places: Nagato. She appeared to have come out of the repair docks room just now, and there was a blood-stained bandage on her head that wrapped around her left eye.

"Well, this is an interesting scene," Nagato said with a smirk, letting go of Drake and cracking her knuckles as she faced the Abyssal. "I thought I heard noises out here, but I didn't think there were any of you scum still left."

The Ri-class merely scowled and ran at Nagato, but the battleship did not move. The Ri-class' fist made contact with Nagato's collarbone, but the Japanese ship girl did not even flinch. Instead, she grabbed the head of the enemy heavy cruiser and then twisted it backwards, killing the Abyssal in one stroke. The dead commando fell to the floor unceremoniously.

"Hmph. These Abyssals are fairly weak when they are not on the waters," Nagato observed. She then saw Shoukaku's unmoving form resting against the bulkhead. "Is she all right?"

"Uh, I don't know. I brought her here to the repair area but got distracted by that Abyssal," Drake answered, still unable to make sense of the recent events.

Nagato went over to Shoukaku and picked her up. "I see. You did well to bring her here then, sir. It probably was not wise to try and fight an Abyssal with your bare hands, though."

"Not like I had a choice…" Drake replied. "But what are _you_ doing here?"

Nagato let out a tired sigh. "I don't want to bring you bad news, but the fight is not going well. I was injured during the battle and so I was tasked with bringing some of the more severely damaged ships back to the main fleet. However, given the chaos of the battle, I was unable to find a safe path back to the _Bushido_. Haruna was also sailing back from the fight, and so she saw me and my charges and said that we could come back to your ship instead. But when we got here, we saw the Abyssals had installed some sort of ladder-like apparatus on your carrier and were infiltrating the ship. Therefore, we followed suit and tried to kill them before they could cause too much damage. Evidently we missed one, though."

As if on cue, Haruna herself suddenly ran into the passageway. Her expression turned to one of surprise when she saw Drake, Shoukaku, and the dead body of the Ri-class.

"I'm so sorry! I let her get away from me!" Haruna bowed in apology.

"Luckily I was here," Nagato said to her. "But aside from that, have all the others been exterminated?"

"I think so… Suzuya came back and said she beat two of them by herself since she wasn't injured," Haruna informed her.

"Suzuya is here too?" Drake asked.

"Oh, yes, sir. The heavy fleet was ordered to make a general retreat, so some of us returned here," Haruna said. "All of us except Bismarck… Wait, Admiral, what happened to Bismarck?"

"She should be fine now. I sent her to go help out Kaga. But if you're all coming back, then I guess this battle really is lost…"

The three stood silently for a moment.

"I'll go and have Shoukaku repaired," Nagato finally said, disappearing back into the repair area.

Drake thought about the situation. _If Abyssals are able to get this close to us, then things are rapidly deteriorating. At this point, I need to get everyone in my fleet back safely and then retreat as fast as I can._

"Haruna, head down to the holding area. Make sure everyone else in our fleet returns and report back when that happens."

"Sir," she saluted before heading off.

Drake himself began walking back to the situation room. He needed to find out if Kaga had defeated or escaped the Princess yet, and then he needed to get both her and Bismarck back to the ship. He also had those American destroyers that were under his command, and hopefully they hadn't been sunk yet.

When Drake came back to the situation room, he found that most of the junior officers were still in there. They stared expectantly at him when he entered, wondering what all the ruckus that had only just died down was about.

"Let's get back to work," he said to them before collapsing in the chair in front of the console. He was all too aware of the missing adjutant at his side.

A wave of exhaustion crashed over him. He had been running on pure adrenaline for the past half hour or so, and now events were catching up with him. He had no idea how he had managed to stand up to two Abyssals in CQC and even help kill one of them, and the recollection of those experiences without the numbing effect of the moment made him tremble.

 _No. I've got to stay focused,_ he told himself.

He could worry about that stuff later, but right now, there was still a battle to fight.

* * *

Shigure sailed alongside her sisters, her dark hair moving slightly in the wind. The battle against the Aircraft Carrier Princess had ended some time ago, and so Kaga had ordered the escorting ships to sail back to the main fleet because many of them had been severely injured during the air attacks. As usual, Shigure herself managed to escape without any major injuries, but she did take a few hits, causing smoke to trail from her rigging and bruising her a bit.

Murasame ended up worse off. A few torpedoes had exploded beneath her, essentially disabling her legs and preventing her from sailing on her own. Therefore, Yamakaze, who was the least damaged out of the trio, was currently sailing with Murasame's arm slung around her shoulder. This meant that they had to go slower than everyone else and were more or less left behind, but they did not mind because this area of the sea didn't appear to have any enemies in sight.

"Do you need me to carry her now, Yamakaze?" Shigure asked her younger sister.

"No, I can do it," Yamakaze insisted.

"Sorry about this. I should have watched where I was going," Murasame sighed.

Shigure shook her head. "It's not your fault. You shot down more aircraft than either of us anyway."

"Ehehe. But still, I can't believe Kaga and Shoukaku actually managed to sink a Princess by themselves," Murasame said.

"They weren't by themselves. They were able to do it because we all helped as one fleet," Shigure said. _I guess you were right after all, Admiral._

"I'm just glad there were no scary submarines…" Yamakaze added, suppressing a shudder.

"Uh-huh. I just hope we don't run into any on our way back," Murasame said.

"No way! That won't happen, r-right, Shigure?"

Shigure tried not to laugh at her sister's franticness. "Don't worry, this is the way we came from, so I doubt the Abyssals could have made it this far back."

"So how do you think the rest of the battle is going?" Murasame then asked.

Shigure hadn't really thought about that until now. "Um… I don't know. I think we lost a lot of airpower in our initial strike, so that might be a problem…"

"Well, the rest of the fleet is really strong anyway," Murasame confidently stated. "If we've got ships like Yamato and Nagato, then there's no way we can lose, right?"

"Yeah…" _But the enemy has strong ships too…_

"How far is the ship? Maybe we should have asked the rest of the fleet to wait for us," Yamakaze then said.

"Shouldn't be too far now. If you squint you can see shapes on the horizon," Shigure pointed out.

Murasame tried to do just that. "Yeah, I think I can see them. But hey, what's that over there? It's small and moving really quickly."

The three Shiratsuyu-class destroyers turned to look at a figure approaching on the horizon. As Murasame said, the figure was moving at a fairly high speed, and it was obvious that it wasn't a traditional warship. At first Shigure thought it might be Shimakaze or someone, but as the shape got closer, her blue eyes widened as she recognized what it truly was.

"It's her!" Murasame cried out, her expression a mixture of surprise and horror.

 _The Destroyer Princess…_ Shigure lifted her gun and prepared her aim, but some part of her knew that it was useless. She was already injured, and if she had to fight while protecting Murasame, who couldn't even move, it would be even more difficult.

The Abyssal approached, but for some reason did not fire upon Shigure or her sisters. Instead, the Destroyer Princess just grinned cruelly at them.

"So here you are. Glad you didn't sink yet," the Princess said in an almost gloating tone.

It was then that Shigure noticed what was in the Abyssal's hands. In the clutches of her right fist, the Destroyer Princess held the heads of Yuudachi and Kawakaze by their hair. Both of their faces were frozen in terror and pain, and the bases of their necks were darkened with red blood from where the Abyssal had sloppily cut them off.

"Here!" the Destroyer Princess smirked, tossing the two heads in front of her and into the water.

Yamakaze shrieked, and Shigure immediately rushed to retrieve them. Before the heads could sink and be lost forever, Shigure pulled them out. But now that she was closer to them, she could see more clearly the brutality of the Abyssal's work, and she felt like throwing up.

 _Yuudachi, Kawakaze… No…_

"Hahaha! You're like a dog playing fetch," the Destroyer Princess laughed. "Do you know how easily I could put you down right now?"

Shigure didn't say anything. The glassy and panic-stricken eyes of her dead sisters stared back up at her.

"Hey, bitch, I'm talking to you!" the Destroyer Princess went up to Shigure and pulled the ship girl's gaze up forcefully by yanking on her dark hair.

The shining, sinister gaze of the Destroyer Princess bored into Shigure's own scared blue eyes. Protectively, Shigure clutched the heads of her sisters closer to her, but she could still feel their dead gazes on her as well. She felt as if she would collapse under the weight of their stares.

"G-Get away from her!" Murasame yelled at the Princess, but she was in no position to actually do anything.

The Destroyer Princess glared at Shigure. "You're pathetic. There's nothing but fear in your eyes."

Roughly, the Abyssal shoved Shigure's head back down. She then smiled.

"I wonder, can you stand up in fight right now? Even if I said that I would kill both your sisters if you didn't?"

Shigure made no response. She tried to stand up, but her whole body was trembling and she found it difficult to move.

The Destroyer Princess pointed her left hand cannon at Shigure's head. "I gave you a chance to get stronger back at the Finger, but it looks like you came back as weak as ever. Give me one good reason why I shouldn't end your miserable life right now."

Murasame jerked free of Yamakaze's grip, only to stumble and fall. "I told you to get away from her!"

"Murasame!" Yamakaze cried out, sailing in front of her fallen sister. She lifted her own gun and pointed it at the Abyssal, but she was trembling just as much as Shigure. "I-If you want to f-fight someone, fight m-me!"

The Abyssal Princess did not take that seriously at all. "You're all worms, squirming about helplessly. As much as I enjoyed our previous meeting, doing the same thing over and over again gets boring. Your two weak sisters were no threat either. Is this really all the famed Shiratsuyu-class can do?"

The three sisters could make no attempt to deny the Abyssal's words. They were far too weak to do anything to a Princess in their current state, and they all remained rooted in place, frightened and only moving with the slight bobbing of the waves.

The Destroyer Princess sighed in disappointment. "And I here I thought this would end up being some great battle, but so far it's just been our side slaughtering yours… Tell me, have any of you ever hated someone or something so much that it consumed your life and your every thought?"

Again the sisters made no reply.

"Heh. Didn't think so," the Princess smirked. "Well, then you will never understand me, or any of the Abyssals… But maybe you can learn. All right! I'm going to let you go this time with your dead sisters. Use this opportunity to foster the dark feelings inside you, and then when you have come to understand me, maybe we can fight as equals. That is when I will not hold back. Until then, ship girls."

With that, the Destroyer Princess turned around and sailed back where she had come from, cutting through the waves with her speedy rigging. When she left, Yamakaze fell to her knees in relief, though she was still trembling. Shigure's gaze was still fixed on the lifeless heads of Yuudachi and Kawakaze.

"Guys, we can't stay here. There could be more Abyssals," Murasame warned. "Let's go. We need to hurry and get back to our fleet."

"R-Right," Yamakaze shakily agreed, getting back to her feet and picking up Murasame. "... Shigure?"

Wordlessly, Shigure got up and followed her sisters. Her blue eyes stared dully ahead.

* * *

Bismarck double checked her radar, which, along with her engine, was practically the only piece of her rigging still left somewhat intact.

 _This looks like the place,_ she thought, looking around at the empty sea. _I don't see anyone, though. Did Kaga already leave?_

The German battleship had sailed to the coordinates given to her by her admiral in order to assist Kaga, but given her injuries, she had to take her time in getting here. She didn't hear any sounds of fighting except in the far-off distance, so she assumed that the battle here must already have been finished.

 _Wow. I guess that's why she's the flagship,_ Bismarck marveled, recalling her own match with Kaga when she first got to the base.

It was then that Bismarck noticed a lone figure crouched over in the distance. Bismarck sailed over to it, and as she got closer, she could see that it was Akagi from her fleet.

 _What's she doing here by herself?_

As Bismarck approached, Akagi did not even bother looking up at her. The carrier was severely damaged, and her clothes were torn and bloodied. A relatively large hole had been punched through Akagi's stomach, and Bismarck cringed at the injury. Akagi's eyes stared blankly at the water in front of her.

"Akagi. What are you doing here?" Bismarck asked.

The IJN ship girl said nothing.

"Where is Kaga?" Bismarck then questioned. _There's no way that Kaga would just leave Akagi like this._

After a brief pause, Akagi spoke. Her voice was very quiet and raspy.

"... Kaga… Is gone…"

"What?" Bismarck raised an eyebrow.

"She's gone!" Akagi suddenly screeched, causing Bismarck to jump back in surprise. The carrier then doubled over and began coughing harshly.

 _Gone…?_ "What happened to her?"

"... She sunk," Akagi replied after her coughing subsided, her voice even weaker than before.

Bismarck's eyes widened. "She… But that's…"

Akagi did not speak after that. Instead, the carrier just fell over, and Bismarck had to grab her to prevent her from sinking. Akagi's golden eyes were now dim, and it clear that she had succumbed to her injuries. Bismarck wouldn't be getting anymore information out of her.

 _Could Kaga really have sunk?_ Bismarck wondered, shocked. _It does make sense, given that there was no one here. If Kaga had won the fight, she would have reported back and taken Akagi with her… But how could she lose?_

As the shaken Bismarck held Akagi's lifeless form in her arms, she then spotted another shape sailing towards her. Bismarck squinted her blue eyes and made out the familiar figure of Ark Royal. The German sailed over to meet her halfway.

"So you're still alive, eh?" Ark Royal greeted, her sapphire eyes and tired smile displaying her fatigue.

Trailing behind Ark Royal were the bodies of the two American carriers, Saratoga and Intrepid. Ark had apparently brought some towing wire with her, and the two carriers were attached to Ark's rigging as she sailed. They were clearly dead, and their bodies looked like props out of a horror film. The skin on Intrepid's face had been burnt off, revealing the skull beneath, and one of her arms had been blown away at the shoulder. Saratoga's torso was smashed open, and her bloodstained ribs jutted out, burnt flesh clinging to the bone.

"Is she dead?" Ark Royal asked, pointing towards Akagi.

" _Ja._ She told me that Kaga also…"

Ark Royal sighed. "I see. I did hear the sounds of battle fade away some time ago."

"What happened here?" Bismarck asked, still confused and dumbfounded at the whole situation.

"It's a long story," Ark Royal said, then held her head as she stumbled a bit.

"Are you all right?"

"Hah… I'll be fine," Ark Royal weakly smiled. "I think we should just get back to the fleet…"

Bismarck grit her teeth. This was not how it was supposed to end.

"Yeah… Let's go."


	37. Blue Ribbon II

"Yes, just continue on that path," Drake said into the mic to the _Signature_ -class destroyer squadron leader, then cut the transmission.

 _Now to check up on the bridge. It would be bad if the Abyssals did any damage to them,_ Drake decided as he picked up the phone next to the console.

He thought maybe the man from before would answer again, but instead, a woman's voice responded.

" _Hello?"_

"Admiral Belle?"

" _Oh, Rear Admiral. Glad to see you're still alive,"_ Belle said. " _Did you see the Abyssals down there? Their main object was the bridge, so I don't know if you noticed."_

"Unfortunately I did run into them, but I made it through somehow," Drake replied. "So everything is fine on the bridge then?"

" _Yes, thanks to that green-haired girl of yours. She took out two Abyssals by herself,"_ Belle told him, impressed.

"Suzuya, right. Well, that's good, then. But as for the rest of the battle… It's not going well, is it?"

" _I'm sure you know the answer to that. Command has issued a general retreat order."_

Drake knew that it was coming, but it still hurt to hear it. The Battle for Okinawa was lost, and it had all started because of his fatal mistake at the beginning.

"Has our ship begun to retreat?"

" _We were held up by that Abyssal boarding attempt, so not yet. But we will start now."_

"Some members of my fleet still haven't returned yet, ma'am," Drake protested. "We need to wait for them."

" _You know that's impossible, Rear Admiral. If we don't leave now, we'll all be killed. It's a waste, but we're going to have to write off anyone who hasn't returned yet as losses if they can't catch up on their own."_

"What if I can buy us some time?"

" _And how are you going to do that?"_

"Just leave it to me, ma'am. If the situation becomes too dangerous, then you can retreat at any time. Just please let me know before you do," Drake said to her.

" _Fine. The Hawkeyes in the air haven't detected anymore Abyssals in range of us aside from that one squadron, but they'll be approaching soon. If they get within range, we're immediately retreating."_

"Understood. I'll be getting to work, then," Drake finished as he hung up the phone.

He then turned back to the console. _I couldn't tell her my plan, of course… I'm sorry, but this has to be done._

"Destroyer squadron, change coordinates to forward Sector A," Drake said into the mic.

" _Order acknowledged, sir,"_ the destroyer commander replied.

Drake sat back in his chair and sighed. At this time, almost all the ships in the fleet were retreating, but Drake had just ordered those destroyers to advance in front of his ship. This would buy _Raw Screams of Liberty_ some time and allow the remaining ship girls to get back to the carrier, but it meant that the American destroyer squadron would certainly be crushed. Everyone aboard those ships would be killed.

 _Ship girls are more valuable assets than humans. This is for the greater good,_ Drake told himself, but that did not take the stinging guilt off his decision. Once again, he was forcing people to sacrifice their lives.

In order to get his mind off that, Drake switched the console to the main channel of his fleet which allowed him to reach all the ship girls under his command.

"This is Rear Admiral Drake," he started, "all ship girls are ordered to retreat immediately. Return to the carrier USS _Raw Screams of Liberty_ at once."

He then stood up, taking an earpiece with him so he could communicate with any of the fleets if necessary. Drake walked out of the situation room and traveled back down to the ship girl holding area, anxious to see when the remainder of his fleet would return.

When he got there, he saw Haruna helping some of the returning escorts out of their equipment and assisting the injured. He arrived in time to catch Yahagi before she stumbled and hit the floor, and the bloodied light cruiser muttered a weak thanks before Kiso came and took her off Drake's hands. He also saw Sendai groaning in pain and rubbing her forehead as she was helped along by Kashima, and he watched Fubuki carry Amatsukaze's burnt, unconscious form on her back. Asashio also passed by, and she saluted even as her face was painted red and black with blood and soot.

Drake returned the salute guiltily. _Damn… They had a rough time of it._

He counted all of the escorts and realized that the Shiratsuyu-class destroyers were still missing. Wondering where they were, Drake peeked out towards the sea and saw a few figures sailing back towards the carrier in the distance, which was probably them. With them accounted for, that only left Zuikaku, Bismarck, Akagi, and Kaga as the four ship girls yet to return. Also missing were some of the other carriers who weren't normally part of his fleet.

Drake stepped off to the side and tried to contact Kaga with his earpiece. There was no response, which probably meant that she had her hands full or her earpiece had been destroyed during the battle. He wished he could contact Zuikaku, Akagi, or Bismarck individually too, but since they were not flagships, they did not have their own frequencies. They could contact him by themselves through his channel, but he couldn't reach them specifically.

 _Hopefully they're all right… We can't wait here for too long._

The Shiratsuyu-class destroyers then arrived, and their expressions were haggard. Yamakaze was shaking like she had seen a ghost, and though she had Murasame's arm slung around her shoulder and was helping her along, the green-haired destroyer looked like she was about to collapse at any moment. Since Haruna was off helping the other ship girls, Drake took Murasame from Yamakaze and carried the brown-haired destroyer in his arms instead.

It was then that he noticed that Shigure had the disembodied heads of Yuudachi and Kawakaze in her hands, which made him do a double-take. Shigure herself looked completely beaten, and her cerulean eyes were blank. She stood there, unmoving. Yamakaze came up to Drake and latched onto him immediately, still trembling.

"Um, sorry, sir. We kind of ran into some extra trouble," Murasame tried to explain.

Drake wasn't really sure what to say. "Okay. Let's go back to the repair area where they can help your sisters."

He walked up to the repair area with Murasame in his arms and Yamakaze clutching onto him. Shigure wordlessly followed.

Drake opened the door to see the ship's medics rushing around, trying to prioritize fixing up the most damaged ship girls. The Fairies inside the ship girls' bodies would also assist with the medical operations, but Drake himself was not sure how any of that really worked.

Nagato greeted them. "Ah… Is that Yuudachi and Kawakaze? What happened to them…"

A medic hurriedly came over and took the heads from Shigure, who looked to still be in a state of shock. It was obvious that they wouldn't be able to reconstruct their bodies here on the ship, but they could at least prevent them from permanently dying by sending oxygen to their brains.

"By the way, sir, while the medics were coordinating with the other ships, I heard that Zuikaku was aboard the German carrier _Brunhild_ ," Nagato informed Drake. "She is part of your fleet, right?"

"Yeah. Do you know about the other ship girls?" Drake asked.

She shook her head. "I don't know about many others. At this point… It will be difficult to get an accurate count because some of them may not be floating anymore. All we can do is retreat and hope that they return in time."

That did not make Drake feel any better. He excused himself and went back down to the holding area, impatiently waiting for the last of his ship girls to return. For some time he just sat glumly on the white sofa, staring out at the sea. Each passing minute made him more tense, and the sounds of explosions in the distance ate away at him. Eventually, though, he spotted two individuals sailing towards the carrier. He immediately stood up and walked over to the open bay door to greet them.

The figures got closer, and Drake could make out both Ark Royal and Bismarck as the ones standing. In Bismarck's arms was Akagi, who was dead by the looks of things but still whole. Ark Royal was towing back two other ship girls, and when they got closer, Drake saw that it was the grisly remains of the two American carriers.

"You're finally back," Drake said in relief when Bismarck disembarked. "Where's Kaga…?

Bismarck remained silent. Her cap covered her eyes.

Nobody spoke, and Ark Royal tried to detach Saratoga and Intrepid as carefully as she could without interrupting.

"... You should go up to the repair room," Drake finally said.

"Right," Bismarck replied in a low voice.

It sounded like she wanted to say more, but she didn't. She and Ark Royal took the bodies upstairs, and though Drake knew he should probably be helping them since they were both injured as well, he instead just sat back down on the sofa and looked out at the water again. In the distance, the sun was beginning to set.

 _How did it come to this?_ He wondered. He was at a loss. He was slightly nervous before this battle began, but he never thought it would end up like this. He felt sick.

 _Oh, right, I need to tell Admiral Belle that we can get moving…_

Drake stood up and began walking back up to the situation room. The whole time, he felt like he was in a daze. He arrived at the situation room and picked up the phone.

" _Yes, hello?"_ that male voice from earlier replied.

"Tell Admiral Belle we can get the ship moving now," Drake said as evenly as he could.

" _About time."_

The man then hung up, and Drake left the phone dangling and walked over to the windows that looked out onto the sea. The ship began moving, and the other officers in the room looked supremely relieved at that. With his hands in his pockets, Drake watched the waves move past the battlefield. Trails of smoke could be seen coiling up in the distance.

"Uh, Rear Admiral, sir," one of the ensigns nervously approached him. "Before you came in, we just received word that the destroyers you sent out have been sunk…"

"All right," was all he said in reply.

A numbness settled into his mind. Suddenly, he felt very constricted, standing there in that room and watching the seas roll past. _What if she's still out there? What if there was a mistake?_

But Drake knew the truth. Bismarck and Akagi would have never returned if Kaga were still alive.

 _If only I had helped her… But instead, I was with Bismarck. What a waste…_

As soon as he thought that, Drake immediately felt disgusted with himself. It wasn't Bismarck's fault that any of this happened; it was his and his alone. Besides, Kaga was the one who told him to help Bismarck in the first place, and he knew that she would be disappointed in him if he regretted that decision.

It was all because of him. He was too incompetent to be trusted with her life. Now, she was gone, and yet here he stood. Once again, others paid with their lives while Drake walked off the battlefield unscathed. Why was he allowed to leave alive? Wasn't it his fault that Hiryuu, Souryuu, and Kaga were sunk? Wasn't he the one who sent all those sailors in those destroyers to their deaths? Wasn't he the one who came up with the strategy that wiped out his own fleet's airpower? So why was he being rewarded with the chance to go on living?

Ever since that day at Tangier, it was a question that Drake couldn't answer. After this battle, his quest to find that answer only grew more complicated. Despite all that the world had given him, he had given the world nothing.

 _Kaga… I'm sorry._

The worst part was that Drake knew that Kaga would never blame him. Even in her final moments, he knew that she wouldn't curse him or hate him. If anything, she probably went down with dignity, proud that she could fight for her country and her admiral.

Now Drake felt that he really would throw up. He rushed out of the room and into the passageway. Panting, he leaned against the bulkhead and tried to still his pounding heart. He squeezed his eyes shut.

 _Why… Fuck! Why! This wasn't supposed to happen!_

As he stood in the passageway, writhing in silent agony, Drake realized that it was at times like this when he most needed Kaga. She was the only one he had told about his fears of the Abyssals, and she was always there to steady him. Though he was supposed to be the strong, stoic commander that all the ship girls could look up to, that image was impossible for him to maintain without some help… And now that Kaga was gone, what could he do?

He felt like he had been stranded at sea and someone had shot out his compass.

* * *

Rear Admiral Genji of the IJN stood by in the ship girl repair area of the carrier _47 Ronin_ , cringing as he watched a group of engineers rush over to Kongou. The British-born battleship was currently bent over on the ground, throwing up blood on the metal floor. All around Genji were other engineers and doctors, each of them moving with a sense of urgency to try and take in and stabilize the damaged ship girls who kept on coming in.

"Looks like we're just in the way," Fleet Admiral Miiro told Genji. "Perhaps we should head back to the bridge."

Genji clenched his fists, but nodded and followed Miiro out. There was nothing more he could do here.

"The light carrier fleet has been recalled as well," Miiro said as they walked. "I heard from Zuihou that they made it to the _Brunhild_."

Genji merely grunted in acknowledgement. Perhaps he was being rude to his superior, but he was in no mood to watch his manners. Miiro, having worked with Genji for a while now, was not too offended by this and made no comment.

"... Is there any _good_ news?" Genji finally asked.

"Ah… Well, we will probably be able to retreat with our lives, no?"

Genji scowled. "With our lives, yes, but at the price of our dignity. What a farce this whole thing was."

The pair made it back to the bridge, where a junior officer was waiting for them.

"Admirals! Urgent message from Fleet Admiral Umi!"

Though Miiro was technically higher ranked, Genji was the one who had done most of the actual commanding on the ship, and so he walked over to the communications console and answered the call.

"Hello?"

" _Hello? Rear Admiral Genji?"_

"Yes, ma'am. What is it?"

" _Heh. You seem as grumpy as ever."_

"This is no time for jokes, ma'am," Genji gruffly replied.

" _Haha! You got that right. Well, what a mess, huh? I really screwed this one up."_

Fleet Admiral Umi's voice fell into a glum depression towards the end of her sentence, which surprised the normally unflappable Genji. He had never heard Umi being so serious or downcast, and she was always the one who tried to inject hope and optimism into the situation, no matter how bad things were. He felt an uncharacteristic sympathy for her.

"Many of us failed today. It wasn't just you, ma'am," Genji said.

" _Oho? Did I hear correctly? The frowny Genji is actually feeling bad for me? Haha!"_

Genji immediately regretted his words and blushed heavily. "I -"

" _Thank you,"_ she interrupted him, her tone earnest. " _I know you never appreciated my easygoing attitude or my drunken antics, but I am glad that you still see me as a comrade. If we can still look out for each other even in times like these, then we won't lose to the Abyssals in the end. I just know it."_

Umi's shift in tone had again surprised Genji, and he didn't know what to say to that.

A few seconds later, she regained her normal jovial sound. " _Anyway! I called you because I wanted you to accept some extra cargo I sent over a while ago. A small motorboat containing Fleet Admiral Kaigan is heading towards your position, so please be on the lookout for that."_

"What? Why are you sending him over?" Genji asked in confusion.

" _Hehe… Well, you see,_ Bushido _has taken heavy damage from an enemy battleship's barrage, and it doesn't look like she's going to be afloat for much longer. All our screening ships have sunk, so you'll have to take him instead."_

"All right… But what about you?"

" _There's only a few of us left alive here, and we've all made the decision to stay back and cover the fleet's retreat. Actually, Fleet Admiral Kaigan wanted to stay too, but we forced him off. He threw quite a tantrum, haha!"_

"So you're…"

" _... Yeah. Someone has to take responsibility for this, and as the overall commander, it's fitting that I do it,"_ Umi said, her voice growing quiet. " _But that's why I was glad to hear your words, Genji. If my own soldiers still care for me, then I can die in peace. Take care of the fleet for me, and don't let this loss keep us down. Never give up the fight!"_

"Yes, ma'am," Genji responded firmly. The connection then ended.

The rear admiral then gave orders to the bridge staff to prepare for the reception of Fleet Admiral Kaigan, and personnel began rushing down to the ship girl holding area to receive the motorboat from there.

"That was Fleet Admiral Umi, no?" Miiro asked Genji afterwards.

"Yes," Genji curtly answered.

Miiro smiled. "I see… Rear Admiral Genji. I know I am not as smart as you or Fleet Admiral Umi, and I know I am not a skilled commander. I know that I was only given this position because my father was one of those who helped bring the new empress to power."

Genji blinked in astonishment. Though he knew all those things already, he did not realize that the aloof Fleet Admiral Miiro was so self-aware.

"I didn't want this position, and I know I am not very good at it," Miiro continued. "But if this nation still has people like you and Fleet Admiral Umi fighting for it, then I want to try my best too. I hope that one day I can show the same strength that she did."

"R-Right, sir," Genji simply said, not knowing what to make of that. Despite his usual arrogance towards Miiro, he did not expect to hear his superior speaking like that to him. "We will all have to do our best from now on. But for now, let's go down and welcome Fleet Admiral Kaigan."

* * *

"Rear Admiral Richard Drake, reporting for duty," Drake saluted when he entered the bridge of his carrier, which was still making her way out of the battlefield.

Admiral Belle turned to greet him. "Ah, you're here."

"Yo, what's up, sir!" Suzuya waved and grinned, speaking in Japanese. "Woah. Sorry, but you look like shit."

"You're still here, Suzuya?"

"We asked her to stay just in case any more Abyssals tried to attack the bridge," Belle filled in. "Anyway, the rest of the fleet is also retreating now. Our plan is to head back around to Tokyo Bay, but rearguard forces from Sasebo have been deployed in order to hold the line at the Japanese mainland."

"So Okinawa is lost, then," Drake stated.

"Unfortunately. Luckily for us, though, the Abyssal fleet doesn't seem to be pursuing us too heavily. They probably want to regroup as well and then make sure they really do have a hold over Okinawa instead of chasing after us stragglers."

Drake and Belle paused momentarily to look out the bridge windows and watch the large battleship CRS _Great White North_ of the New Canadian Republic pass extremely close by to them. Her pearly white railguns and finish were coated with black streaks, and she was on fire towards her stern, but automatic systems and personnel could be seen rushing to put it out.

"Fuckin' Canucks, why're they sailing so close to us?" a nearby vice admiral complained. Judging by his voice, he was the one Drake spoke to on the phone.

Belle turned back to Drake. "It's too early to count total losses right now, but I'd assume they are heavy. Overall, this mission was a huge failure. Probably the worst in the history of our navy."

Drake just stood there. _Is she going to reprimand me now?_ He didn't have the willpower or desire to defend himself at the moment.

Belle instead changed the subject. "Well, actually, we still have one last option. Fleet Admiral Cassius has ordered the execution of Operation Judgement."

"Uh… I'm not sure I understand, ma'am…"

"Oh, right, you weren't there," Belle recalled. "Remember when we went for that strategy meeting on the _Bushido_ and I stayed behind for a bit? We were talking about it then. Did you notice the submarines?"

Drake thought for a moment. "The ones in the back?"

"Yes. They are a group of our _Holy Book_ -class nuclear subs. Their purpose is to launch a massive nuclear strike against the Abyssal fleet."

"We're going to _nuke_ them!?" Suzuya burst in incredulously, then clapped her hands over her mouth.

"Will that work?" Drake asked.

"Who knows," Belle shook her head. "This was obviously meant to be a last resort, but I think we've reached that point now. Admiral Cassius should be ordering the attack once we've all sailed out of range, which should be at any moment."

Sure enough, an incoming transmission came in from Fleet Admiral Cassius. Drake listened in along with the rest of the bridge staff.

" _Attention all INFCOM commanders. Operation Judgement is now going into effect. I repeat, Operation Judgement is now going into effect. All ships, clear the blast zone."_

"Fireworks should be starting soon," the vice admiral said as he looked out the bridge windows with a binocular.

Drake followed his gaze and saw a hailstorm of missiles suddenly come shooting out of the ocean. He was able to momentarily glimpse the submarines that launched them as they were illuminated by the glow of the nukes, but the missiles quickly shot up into the air and disappeared out of sight. Nervously, Drake and the rest of the bridge held their breath and waited.

After a few minutes, there was some confusion. Surely the missiles couldn't take that long to reach their targets? And if the Abyssals had somehow shot nuclear missiles out of the air, then there should be an explosion regardless.

"The hell?" the vice admiral put down his binoculars.

Suzuya ran over to the windows, staring outside curiously. "Nothing's happening…"

"Did something go wrong?" Admiral Belle wondered. She moved over to the console to contact Fleet Admiral Cassius.

" _Hello?"_

"Sir, it's Admiral Belle. Was the strike successful?"

" _About that… Trackers on the missiles showed that they were shot out of the air. They were essentially disabled and then fell harmlessly down into the ocean without hitting anything."_

"But that's impossible. No Abyssal has that power," Belle replied, stunned.

" _It wasn't an Abyssal. We're still trying to figure out exactly what happened, but satellite monitoring is saying it came from Bethlehem."_

 _Bethlehem? That Abyssal tower?_ Drake recalled.

"That structure is not even close to this location, sir," Belle said.

" _Yes, we're aware of that. Like I said, we're still trying to figure out the specifics, but it looks like that structure's anti-air capabilities are far greater than we thought. Focus on retreating for now. There's nothing more we can do here."_

The transmission ended.

* * *

Bismarck sat down on a spare chair in the corner of the large repair area, exhausted both physically and mentally. Though she was still fairly beat up from her long duel with the European Princess, there were a lot of ship girls with injuries far worse than hers, and so they were prioritized first. The worst hurt were Yuudachi and Kawakaze, who were nothing but a pair of disembodied heads now. The repair staff couldn't do anything but put them on ice for now and hope to rebuild them back at the base.

"You look tired. Care for one?"

Bismarck looked up to see Nagato standing over her, holding out a can of iced coffee.

" _Danke,_ " Bismarck said, taking the can and cracking it open. She had never really spoken to Nagato before.

"Where were you, by the way? I didn't see you retreat with the other Germans," Nagato then asked.

Bismarck froze. With everything that happened, she almost forgot about Prinz Eugen and the destroyers. "Wait, what happened to them?"

"Calm down, they are fine," Nagato smirked. "I heard that they made it to the German carrier _Brunhild_. Your Graf Zeppelin is there as well."

Bismarck sighed in relief. "Glad they made it at least…"

"You never answered my question, though," Nagato reminded her.

"Oh, right. I got separated from the fleet and was stuck fighting the European Princess."

"By yourself?" Nagato was shocked. "How did you even manage to escape?"

"I didn't. She was sunk," Bismarck said, almost causing Nagato's jaw to drop. "Er, but I did have help. Haruna was there at one point, and the Admiral guided me through the rest of the fight and sent some destroyer ships to assist."

"I see. That makes more sense, but it is still impressive," Nagato said. "Now that you mention it, I do remember Haruna and Admiral Drake talking about you earlier."

Haruna, who was walking nearby with a bloody towel in her hand, turned around when she heard her name. Her eyes then grew wide when she saw Bismarck, and she immediately rushed over.

"Bismarck! I didn't know you were here," she greeted with a smile.

"Yeah, you were busy helping some of the destroyers when I came in, so I didn't want to disturb you," Bismarck told her.

"Oh… But I'm glad you're all right!" Haruna smiled again. "Is Kaga here too, then? I think the Admiral said you went to help her."

Bismarck's gaze fell. Her blue eyes stared solemnly at the can she held in her hands.

Haruna looked lost. "Um, I…. But how? Kaga was so strong…"

Nobody had an answer to that.

"We'll avenge her one day," Nagato resolutely stated.

"Um… Does the Admiral…" Haruna started, afraid to finish.

"Y-Yeah," Bismarck answered softly.

"Is he… All right?" the Kongou-class battleship then asked worriedly.

Bismarck shook her head. "I don't know. He didn't seem to be that affected when I told him, but…"

"Yes. Those two were close," Nagato nodded. "How about Akagi, does she know? And Houshou? Zuikaku?"

"Apart from Akagi, I don't think the others know," Bismarck said. "They will find out eventually, though…"

Meanwhile, on the other side of the repair area, a pink-haired destroyer was sitting down on the ground with a bandage in her hand, trying to tie it around a gash in her knee. Shiranui unfurled the white bandage and tried to wrap it around her wound, but her hands were shaking too much. Frustrated, she narrowed her icy eyes.

 _Why won't my hands work! Damn it!_ She tried it again, but it was too difficult when it felt like the wrapping would fly out of her hands at any moment.

"Um, do you need help?" Asashio asked, kneeling down next to Shiranui.

Shiranui glared at her. "I'm fine."

"Uh… You don't really look fine."

"Neither do you," Shiranui shot back. True enough, Asashio was also covered in bandages and gauze, and her uniform was coated in soot.

"But I'm not the one struggling to put on a bandage… Well, I guess you could wait for one of the engineers to help you out, but -"

"I don't need anybody's help!" Shiranui snapped.

Asashio flinched a bit. "But…"

Shiranui took a breath. "Hmph. Whatever. It's just a small cut. I don't even need a bandage."

"Why are you shaking so much, though? Are you hurt somewhere else? If so, you should let the repair staff -"

"Tch. I'm not hurt anywhere," Shiranui said. "It's just that…"

"What?" Asashio pressed.

Shiranui shot her a glance. "Aren't you worried too?"

Asashio looked confused. "About what? About the state of the operation? Yes, things went badly, but I have confidence that the Admiral and the other officers -"

"Not that. Your sisters," Shiranui interrupted her.

"My sisters…?" Asashio repeated.

"Yeah. Aren't you worried that they might have died out there?"

"Oh. I…"

Shiranui sighed. It was clear Asashio hadn't thought about this. "Well, you better be prepared for that possibility, because this operation obviously didn't go well. A lot of people died."

Asashio blinked. "I didn't think…"

"Yeah, that's obvious," Shiranui scoffed.

"B-But I'm sure they will be fine," Asashio nodded to herself. "They're strong, right?"

"Why are you asking me? And the Abyssals are strong as well," Shiranui pointed out.

Asashio sat down next to Shiranui. "Oh…"

Shiranui felt slightly bad now. "W-Well, they could still be alive, I guess. We don't know for sure."

Asashio immediately perked back up. "Yes! We cannot lose hope!"

"Right…" Shiranui sighed. It felt wrong to shake Asashio's firm belief in the strength of her comrades.

Still, Shiranui couldn't help but worry about her sisters. Was Kagerou all right? What about Kuroshio? If the rest of the battle was as bad as the enemies she fought, then maybe it was possible that they had sunk after all…

 _But this is how it's supposed to be, isn't it?_ Shiranui convinced herself. This was a war they were fighting, and despite her girly appearance and bright pink hair, she was a veteran who was well-acquainted with the destruction and despair that goes hand in hand with conflict. Nevertheless, when she was reborn as a ship girl and thrust into this new war with the Abyssals, she somehow thought things would be different.

 _It wasn't a thought. It was a hope._ Shiranui closed her eyes. _What a fool I am. Hope will only bring you down during war._

She stared down at the bandage in her hands. _Hmph. Someone who still has hope will be afraid to lose that hope, and then they become weak. I can't even apply this bandage properly._

"But, you know," Asashio suddenly said after being quiet for a bit, "even if our sisters did sink, we know they did their best, right? We'll have to fight on in honor of their memory. It's these attachments that make us strong, even when we lose them."

Shiranui thought that over.

… _I suppose she's right. Did I fight so hard today to protect myself, or was it to protect the rest of the fleet and my sisters?_

"Yeah. Let's hope they survived, but if they didn't, then I'm not going to sit her and cry about it," Shiranui agreed. "All we can do is get stronger for next time, whether it's with our sisters or with their memory."

Slowly, Shiranui wrapped the bandage around her wound.


	38. Blue Ribbon III

Sitting in the dimly-lit room with his feet on the table and his hands folded behind his head, Fleet Admiral Wei waited for the meeting to begin. At the table with him were Fleet Admirals Boston and Van Dyke, and the former was currently fiddling with a touch screen tablet that was resting on the table. After a few seconds, the screen flickered to life, revealing the visage of the gray-haired Fleet Admiral Cassius.

"All right, should be working now," Boston marveled at his handiwork. "Can ya hear us?"

"Yes, everything is fine on my end," Cassius replied. "Shall we get started, then?"

Everyone then turned to face Van Dyke, who cleared his throat before speaking.

"As you may expect, the Citizen's Council is not happy," the bearded admiral started. "And as you also probably know, the average citizen isn't happy either. The stock market tumbled like hell in the past few days, and people have no idea what's going on with the Abyssals."

"That's no surprise. This was probably the worst defeat since our navy was created," Boston said.

"Yes. And the fact that it was an international operation only made things worse," Van Dyke added. "People are thinking that if all the world's strongest nations together can't beat the Abyssals, then what hope does humanity have? People are going to lose confidence in us, and when that happens, then humanity is truly defeated."

"Aren't they right, though?" Wei chimed in. "Why should they be confident in us anymore?"

"... Regardless, we have to do something," Cassius cut in. "What does the Citizen Council have to say?"

Van Dyke pulled out a cigarette and took a moment to light it. "They didn't say anything specifically. They were just incredibly annoyed that this happened."

"So… What, they're letting us off?" Boston asked with disbelief.

"Of course not," Van Dyke grunted. "Someone needs to be blamed in this situation. If it's not someone from the Navy, then the people are going to blame the Citizen's Council, and they're going to get serious about ousting them from power."

"And who is that someone who will take the blame?" Wei wondered.

"What about Rear Admiral Drake?" Cassius suggested.

"That guy?" Boston scratched his beard. "Is it seriously his fault, though?"

"Well, he was the one who submitted the plan for our Kancolle carrier forces, and that was ultimately the reason why we lost all our air power," Cassius said. "But all the high admirals, including myself, looked over and approved the plan. He bears a lot of the blame, but there were plenty other mistakes that were made in that battle aside from just the carriers."

"Then why don't you take the blame, Cassius?" Wei parried. "You were the one who was technically in charge of the American fleet there, including Rear Admiral Drake, right?"

Cassius' face remained neutral. "I only suggested Drake because he is replaceable. If the three of you and the Citizen's Council believe that I instead can be replaced, then I will step down without an argument."

"Hold up," Boston interrupted, "I thought you were the one who selected Drake to lead the Kancolle forces in the first place, Cassius. Now you want him removed?"

"Me? I never selected him; he was merely in my fleet beforehand. Admiral Van Dyke is the one who chose him for that position."

The three admirals turned to Van Dyke again, who was taking a drag from his cigarette.

"Judging from the after-action report, it looks like Rear Admiral Drake's fleet sunk another two Princesses. That credits him with three Princess kills, which is three more than anyone else alive right now," Van Dyke stated, puffing out smoke from his mouth. "... Tell you what. I will handle Rear Admiral Drake. I'll also handle the Citizen's Council, so leave that to me, I suppose."

"Okay… So about Okinawa, then," Boston changed the subject to the other matter they were supposed to be discussing at the meeting.

"Yes. Unfortunately it has fallen to the Abyssals," Cassius said. "Satellite imagery shows that the Abyssals have taken over the docks there and are building some sort of facility on the coast. They are working very quickly."

"Are they going ashore?" Wei asked.

"We presume so," Cassius answered in a grave tone.

"There were still people on Okinawa, right?" Boston brought up. "So they're all fucked, then?"

"Well… I can't imagine anything good is going to happen to them," Cassius frowned.

Wei sighed. "Is there anything we can do? I guess they're on their own."

"Unfortunately. There isn't any hope of rescuing them," Cassius confirmed.

Van Dyke put out his cigarette. "And furthermore, we can't even attack Okinawa with long-range missiles or anything like that because the Abyssals will likely use some of the civilians as hostages. The majority of Okinawa's population did escape to the mainland, but many of them have family that were stranded on Okinawa and didn't manage to escape. The international fallout would be terrible if we tried to bomb Okinawa with those civilians still on it, and Japan itself would never allow it."

"In addition to that, it's possible that Bethlehem may just shoot our missiles down again," Cassius said. "Our nuclear missile attack was easily stopped during the battle."

Boston shook his head. "Damn. Anyway, not to bring up even _more_ bad news, but we recently lost communications with the SEAL contingent that had been sent to Australia to investigate the possible Princess sighting there."

"Great to hear," Wei groaned in defeat.

"We have to worry about that later. The Abyssals in the ocean are the more pressing threat right now," Cassius decided.

"All right. Now what?" Boston questioned, frustrated by their inability to do anything about the situation.

"Now we play a defensive battle of containment," Van Dyke said. "All we can do at this point is watch the Abyssals and make sure that they don't try and expand their reach. Let them have Okinawa since that may keep them busy for a while. It will give us time to recover."

"That's it? That's no different from our usual strategy, and look where that's got us," Boston pointed out.

Van Dyke smirked. "There are other factors at work here, but for now, that's classified, even for you. I'll let you all know if there are any updates."

With that, Fleet Admiral Van Dyke stood up and left the dimly-lit room.

* * *

Rear Admiral Richard Drake sat silently in his private office. The sun was setting, painting the room with a deep red glow and casting long shadows over everything. The wall-mounted television was on, the only source of light in the room.

" _Early reports say that lives lost in the recent Battle of Okinawa are somewhere in the 50,000 area, with preliminary casualty reports detailing even greater numbers,"_ the news anchor was saying. " _Many are calling this the worst defeat in naval history for any nation, let alone a coalition of multiple countries. As of now, communications with Okinawa itself have been cut off, but satellite recordings have shown increased Abyssal activity around and on the island's shores. The fates of the 300,000 people still remaining on Okinawa are unknown."_

Drake watched the news program with tired eyes. He was alone in the room because most of the members of his fleet were still in the hospital. Even the huge INFCOM fleet had split apart, with some ships sailing to different bases in Japan, China, or South Korea so that they could be repaired without overwhelming the docks of any one base in particular. Any ship that was still mostly seaworthy immediately returned back to its home nation. The humiliation and shock of the defeat was so strong that Drake himself never even received any new orders, and so he was just back at the base like usual, except everything had changed.

The chair next to him was empty, and his brown eyes lingered over the spot for a bit. By now, everyone knew about all those who had died during the operation. Miraculously, the ship girl force had only a small number of ships sunk in combat, though since there were so few of them to begin with, even one lost ship girl was a huge blow to morale and fighting strength.

The rear admiral stared down at the paperwork on his desk. Like any operation, there were still ammo, bauxite, steel, and fuel costs that needed to be calculated and restocked. There was nobody to help him with it this time, though, but he almost didn't mind. Ever since the fleet had returned to Tokyo Bay Base a day ago, he had not talked much to anyone, whether it was a ship girl or another human. The most he had done was go through formalities and see Admiral Belle off and then call his parents to let them know that he was still alive. Truth be told, he wanted to be by himself right now.

However, each time he tried to get back to work, his mind wandered off to the day of the battle. What did he do wrong? What could he have done better? Would he be able to do better next time? Would there even _be_ a next time?

 _Damn it!_ Intense frustration welled up inside him. The anger, doubt, and guilt that he had felt since Tangier gripped him even more strongly, and the one who had helped him break free of those feelings was no longer there. Her absence, which was his fault, only served as fuel to those dark emotions.

A knock sounded on this door. Drake looked up with a scowl. He really did not want to be disturbed right now.

"What is it." he called out flatly.

The door slowly opened and Bismarck cautiously stepped inside. "Sir. Are you busy?"

 _Yes, I'm busy drowning in my sorrows,_ Drake thought angrily. "Yeah, I am. What do you want?"

"Uh, well, I thought you might need some help with that paperwork," she said.

Drake looked her over. Surprisingly, Bismarck had not spent much time in the hospital and was out after one day. Still, her arms were covered in bandages and her left arm was even in a brace. She also appeared to be lacking her full mobility. The sight of her only reminded him even more of his failure to help Kaga…

"There's no need for that. I'm fine by myself," Drake brushed her off.

Bismarck's blue eyes were firm. "Pardon me, sir, but you don't look fine."

"I don't remember ever asking for your opinion," he snapped.

"I know. But as your subordinate, I am obligated to give it anyway if I think it will help you," Bismarck pushed back.

"Well, it's not helping me, so you can shove it," Drake growled, growing more annoyed.

"But -"

"Would you just get out already!" Drake interrupted her. "I don't want to see anyone right now, especially not you!"

Bismarck's expression faltered for a bit, and her look betrayed a wave of sadness. Nevertheless, she quickly recovered and saluted before turning around and exiting.

After she left, Drake rubbed his eyes with a tired sigh. _What the fuck is wrong with me? Why did I say that?_

It seemed like he and Bismarck had been doing this ever since they had met. One of them would always get angry at the other, and then they would both feel bad about it.

 _Looks like I'm going to have to apologize to her again,_ he thought with another sigh. The fact that Bismarck had lived while Kaga hadn't was not Bismarck's fault. If anyone were to blame, it would be Drake himself.

He stood up. _It isn't good for me to be holed up in here all day anyway… But first things first, I should visit the hospital. I haven't even checked up on any of my fleet yet._

Drake left the Administrative Building and headed out into the quiet streets of the base. Darkness was spreading over Tokyo Bay as the sun continued to sink beyond the horizon, and as the American walked towards the hospital, he couldn't help but notice the silence that hung over the area. Perhaps it was especially noticeable because just prior the operation the base had been packed full of sailors, but even compared to normal, it was too calm. Usually there would be ship girls or the occasional IJN dock worker or sailor out and about, but this evening, there was no one save for Drake himself.

The hospital, on the other hand, was the opposite. As he expected, Drake found it full of nurses, doctors, engineers, ship girls, and others. Most of the humans being treated on the lower levels had only minor injuries, but there were still a fair number of them. Drake brushed past them and headed up the stairs to where the more badly injured ship girls were. He entered the main room and saw that all the beds were filled with various ship girls, most of them attached to a breathing apparatus or some other machinery. A few other girls sat around the beds, probably sister ships of the injured.

Drake himself headed over to Shoukaku and Zuikaku, who were resting on adjacent beds. Both carriers were hooked up to an assortment of machines, and it was evident that they had been badly injured during the battle. Zuikaku was still unconscious, but Shoukaku was awake, and her hazel eyes drifted towards Drake when she noticed him enter. An oxygen mask covered her mouth, so she was unable to talk. Drake pulled over a nearby chair and sat down beside her bed.

But now that he was there, he didn't know what to say. Should he apologize for everything that happened? No, he felt like that was the last thing she needed to hear from her admiral. Could he comfort her somehow? He was never good at doing that.

 _I wonder if anyone has told her…_

"Uh, so it looks like you and Zuikaku will be fine eventually," he started a bit awkwardly. "Everybody else in our fleet should recover in time too… Except… Kaga will not be coming back."

Shoukaku's gaze remained on him. Perhaps it was because she was wearing a breathing mask or because she had already found out somehow, but her face did not undergo any visible change.

Drake really didn't know what to say after that. "I, uh… Okinawa has also fallen, as you probably already knew, but… Yeah. You should be out sometime soon, so we can talk more then, okay?"

Hiding his eyes under the brim of his hat, Drake stood up and turned out of the room. He wondered what Shoukaku was thinking. Did she hate him for the way the battle turned out and what happened to her, Zuikaku, and Kaga? Could he even blame her if she did?

Before Drake left that floor of the hospital and headed back downstairs, he noticed that the beds in the room across the hallway were also filled. The severity of the battle clearly had a huge effect on the ship girls of this base, and not in a good way. Though Drake did not find any solace when he went to see Shoukaku, he decided that he might as well go in and see if there were any other girls from his fleet who were awake now.

When he entered, he saw a couple familiar faces at the far end of the room. Yamakaze and Murasame were sitting by a bed, and resting in that bed was Shigure. Her beautiful cerulean eyes had been dulled to a pale blue, and they stared up at the ceiling blankly. Her skin was pale, and her face was expressionless.

Murasame and Yamakaze stood up and saluted as Drake approached. He dutifully returned their salute, then glanced at Shigure.

"What's wrong with her?"

"Um, well…" Murasame started. "She kinda just stopped responding when we got back to base. The doctors said she's in shock…"

"She's in shock?" Drake repeated in disbelief. "But she wasn't hurt during the battle if I remember correctly…"

"Yeah, I think maybe seeing our sisters' disembodied heads and the Destroyer Princess again just got to her," Murasame said.

Drake looked at Shigure. _How lucky for you that you get the luxury of just shutting all this away…_

"Well, there's nothing I can do here, then. Let me know if she wakes up," Drake said, turning and leaving the hospital for good this time.

He found himself back on the nighttime streets of the Tokyo Bay Base. The cool air of the night chilled him a bit as a temporary breeze sailed through the air. _Right… Now to find Bismarck._

However, Drake had no idea where she could be. She was by the docks the last time this sort of thing happened, but Drake was in the docks area right now and did not see her. He guessed that maybe she was back in her dorm, but he didn't know if he was supposed to be in there.

 _Eh, I've walked into the baths before, so whatever._

The rear admiral began heading back in the direction of the ship girl dorms, but as he walked, he decided to make a brief stop on the way. He went off the main road and strolled through the grass beside the road, moving towards a hill that overlooked the beach and sea below.

From his position above the sea, Drake put his hands in his pockets and stared out at the black waters as the gentle wind slowly danced with his black hair.

 _Is she down there somewhere? Alone?_

The sea had always held an air of wonderful mystery to him. The vastness of it, its beauty, and its status as home and caretaker to a whole host of sea life… But it could also be harsh and unforgiving. Though it provides sustenance and protection, it also locks away and buries. Drake shut his eyes as the night chill ran through him.

 _Why is it that others always pay for my mistakes?_ He asked. _Has anything really changed since Tangier? I said I would get revenge on the Abyssals, but every time I take one step forward, they push me two steps back. How many more people are going die by the end of this futile journey? If I'm not going to win in the end, then why I am I wasting people's lives in this fight?_

With a quiet sigh, Drake looked away from the sea and went back onto the main road. A part of him said that he was wasting his time and only causing more damage by staying in the navy and fighting the Abyssals, but the other side of him only grew more hungry for vengeance with every defeat he suffered. He felt like he was trapped in a never-ending cycle of destruction.

 _Well, if that is my horrible role in this farce, then the least I could do is not cause pain to my comrades when we're not in battle,_ he thought as he arrived in front of the battleship dorms.

The building itself didn't look too impressive, which was true for all of the ship girl dorms. It was a simple structure painted a deep, wood brown color, but it was made of tough stone and concrete that was meant to withstand enemy air attacks, though evidently that didn't work out so well if the Airfield Princess' raid was anything to go by.

Drake opened the big wooden doors to the dorm building and entered the main lobby. It was rather plain with everything sharing that same classical brown aesthetic, though it did have a small lounge area with a wall-mounted flat-screen television on one side of the room. The lobby was completely empty save for one person, who turned her head curiously when she heard the American enter.

"Oh! It's Admiral Drake, desu!" Kongou greeted cheerily. "What are you doing here, sir? I never knew you visited our dorms!"

"I don't, actually. I'm just looking for someone," Drake told her. "So I see you're out of the hospital?"

"Yep! I'm ready to go at anytime!" she declared, standing up and patting her bicep. Then she deflated a bit. "Hiei and Kirishima are still there, though…"

"Yeah… So, is Bismarck here?"

Kongou's eyes grew wide. "Admiral Drake… Don't tell me… You have _that_ kind of relationship with her?!"

"No," he frowned.

"But why else could you be visiting her in her room, desu!" she shouted.

He sighed. "Is she here or not?"

"Hm… I think I saw her come in," Kongou replied, tapping her chin. "Her room is on the second floor on the far end of the hallway."

"Thanks," Drake tipped his hat and then went up the stairs.

The second floor pretty much consisted of just a hallway lined with rooms.

 _I see the Imperial Navy spared no expense with these dorms,_ Drake thought sarcastically as he walked over to the final room.

He was about to knock, but then hesitated. Was it really all right for him to come into her room like this? If Drake were back on a regular ship with regular sailors under his command, then this would be no big deal, but like many things, this felt strange when it came to ship girls. Would he ever go through this much trouble to apologize to a regular sailor? Would he ever even be emotional enough to hurt them in the first place?

 _Well, I'm already here,_ he decided, and he rapped his gloved fist against the wooden door.

Bismarck opened the door and looked surprised to see him there. "A-Admiral? What are you doing here?"

"Uh, well, I just happened to be nearby, and I… I'm sorry for what I said today," he finished, slightly embarrassed now.

"Oh, that…" Bismarck's face fell, but then she hurriedly stepped aside. "Um, you can come inside if you like."

Drake went inside the room. It was pretty small, and it reminded him of his dorm back at college, though it was cleaner and only had one occupant. There wasn't much in the way of furniture, and the room was simply stocked with a desk, a bed, and some drawers and a closet. At least there was a window and a small adjacent bathroom.

Most of the time Bismarck acted professionally and seriously, fitting in perfectly with the German stereotype. For that reason, Drake wasn't surprised to see that she didn't have any personal belongings strewn about the room. However, she did have a small photograph of her with the rest of the beautiful German ship girls, and they were all smiling happily like some sort of ideal family straight out of one of Hitler's Aryan delusions. Even though Bismarck had invited him inside, Drake felt like he was trespassing. Most of the girls in his fleet had been inside his own house, but they didn't go into his bedroom or anything.

"Is this your first time inside one of the dorms, sir?" Bismarck asked, evidently noticing that he was looking around.

"Yeah. It seems kind of plain. No offense, though."

"I didn't bring much besides my guns when I came from Germany, so yes," Bismarck replied. "All I have is that picture, but I think all of them have safely returned to Germany with Admiral Helmholtz by now…"

"I see…"

Drake wondered why he was even in here in the first place. He had already apologized, but Bismarck didn't seem angry at him. She sounded like she had something more to talk about when she invited him in, so he decided to just ask her.

"So, then. Did you want something else from me?"

"Well, I…" Bismarck averted her gaze. "I… I actually wanted to apologize."

"For what?" Drake raised an eyebrow, confused.

Bismarck continued to avoid his eyes. "Admiral. You were busy helping me when Kaga was sunk. I know that much."

Drake blinked. He didn't recall ever telling her or anybody else that.

"The timing of the events was what gave it away," she explained. "So I know that you blame me for it, and maybe you are right, so -"

"That's enough," he cut her off. "Don't say anymore. I don't blame you, and the only reason I even said that stuff to you was because I was angry at myself."

Drake scowled at himself as he looked at the ground. "I'm the one who should be blamed…"

"But it's not _your_ fault that I couldn't defeat that Princess by myself," Bismarck insisted.

"Heh. And whose fault was it that you even had to fight that Princess in the first place with no air support?" Drake countered bitterly. "Whose fault was it that Kaga had to fight the Airfield Princess when she didn't even have any planes left? It's my fault that you two were even put in that situation to begin with. There's no excuse for it."

"You could have still chosen to help her over me…" Bismarck said in a small voice.

"Yeah, but… She said she could handle it on her own and told me to help you instead," Drake replied in a pained manner.

"You didn't have to listen to her," Bismarck pushed.

"Yes I did!" Drake retorted, more forcefully than he expected to. "She… She told me to trust her. And if I regret helping you over her, then that means that I regret ever trusting Kaga too… How could I ever say that?"

Drake screwed his eyes shut. _Damn. This isn't what I came here to do…_

He felt a touch on his arm. He opened his eyes to see Bismarck close to him.

"It's all right, Admiral."

"... I'm sorry."

"There's no need to apologize anymore," Bismarck assured him, her voice soft but strong. "You can't let the Abyssals control your emotions. Yes, this last operation may have been a massive loss, but you have beat the Abyssals before. You saved my life, and I believe in you… And I know if Kaga were here, she would say the same thing."

"... Yeah. I guess you're right."

Drake was always the type of person who kept his fears and sorrows bottled up inside, but when he met Kaga, he finally felt like he had someone he could share those burdens with. But now she was gone, and he was alone again. He could either let those feelings boil over and destroy himself, or he could use them as fuel to eliminate every last Abyssal on the face of the Earth.

"I'm sorry I caused trouble for you, Bismarck," he stated, regaining his calm. "It won't happen again. Thanks for everything."

* * *

Bismarck sighed as the door closed and her admiral walked out. She hoped she had been able to help him, but she still felt like there were things he wasn't telling her.

 _I'm no good at this after all,_ she lamented as she sat down on her bed. _Is Kaga really the only one who could understand him?_

Bismarck recalled her first meeting with the quiet aircraft carrier. With a bit of embarrassment, she remembered how she had immediately challenged her to a duel for the flagship position and was then promptly defeated. That dealt a massive blow to her pride, and initially, she hated Kaga following the match. However, as time went on, she began to realize that Kaga had never held any animosity towards her, and that she treated her just like any other member of the fleet even though Bismarck was a foreigner whose first interaction with Kaga was hostile. Slowly, Bismarck began to accept Kaga's position as flagship, even though she still didn't like being led by some old Japanese carrier.

Kaga's sinking came as a shock to Bismarck. Bismarck knew of Kaga's strength since her very first day on the naval base, and the aircraft carrier never once gave off an impression of weakness or uncertainty. But in the end, Kaga sunk despite all that. Though Bismarck only knew Kaga for a short time, she had begun to rely on her wisdom and calm demeanor during battles, but that was violently ripped away when Kaga sunk. Finding out from Akagi that Kaga was no longer alive was a terrible feeling for Bismarck.

And that was why she didn't want the same thing to happen to her admiral. Kaga and the Admiral were remarkably similar, and perhaps that was why they got along so well. Both of them helped keep the fleet strong and confident with their reliable record of sound strategy, and they both acted as pillars of strength that the fleet could look to for comfort. But now one of those pillars was gone, and the remaining pillar was left to bear the full weight of the house. If even that pillar was destroyed, then everything would collapse. There would no longer be any fleet.

As an officer, Drake had a better chance of surviving a battle than a ship girl fighting on the frontlines did, but death in battle was not why Bismarck was worried about him. Drake and Kaga always seemed to be together. Bismarck first noticed it back in Los Angeles, but it was made abundantly clear to her when they went to London. Now that Kaga was gone, she feared that her admiral might break under the burden of shouldering her loss along with the responsibilities of the fleet, and based on how Drake had been acting since they came back from Okinawa, she was right. Even just now, his words pretty much confirmed her suspicions.

 _I wish I could help him…_

There was no doubt that her admiral's intervention during the fight against the European Princess had saved Bismarck's life, and she wanted to repay Drake for that somehow. If Kaga couldn't be there to support Drake any longer, than Bismarck would do it instead. But Drake did not see Bismarck in the same way he saw Kaga. She was doubting that it would even work.

Bismarck fell back on her bed, idly rubbing a lock of blonde hair between her fingers. _Maybe there was something more between those two than just commander and subordinate. Maybe even beyond just being comrades, maybe there was something else…_

Given Kaga's and Drake's personalities, it would have been very difficult to discern how deep their relationship went just from the way they acted; that was probably only known to Kaga and Drake themselves. Or perhaps even they didn't realize how much they relied on each other.

 _Would the Admiral ever see me the way he saw Kaga?_ Bismarck smirked to herself. What was the point of that question? She didn't even like Drake that way. But still, there was a point when Bismarck would have been disgusted by the mere thought of serving under an American mutt like him, and now here she was, worrying about him.

 _What happened to me…_

Ever since she had been born again as a ship girl, Bismarck had noticed that she was changing. Back during the War, she fervently believed in the cause of Nazi Germany and thought that the Fuhrer could do no wrong. But when she had returned to life and found herself taken in by the Fourth Reich's Kriegsmarine, they made her read about the rest of World War II, and she was shocked to find out all the atrocities that her country had committed. After that, she understood why the first officers she met in this new age cringed when she greeted them with the standard Nazi salute.

She had been fighting in the Atlantic for almost her entire lifespan in World War II, so she did not pay much attention to anything else that Germany was doing. Now that she had a chance to work with Americans like Drake, Japanese like Haruna and Kaga, and even some of the British ship girls, she recognized that her whole world view had been wrong (though if she were being honest, she still didn't like the Brits). Being a blonde, blue-eyed German didn't automatically make you better than anybody else, and that was literally beat into her by Kaga too. Now, she still saw herself as the greatest battleship, but she knew that her power was best utilized when it was used to fight alongside others, no matter their race or nationality.

Bismarck took off her cap and idly turned it over in her hands. She thought of Drake again. _But this time I'm going to need a different type of strength. My cannons alone won't be able to solve this…_


	39. Blue Ribbon IV

Drake turned the knob on the door to his private office and frowned when he was met with resistance. It was just after lunchtime, and his late start was thanks to the fact that he didn't get much sleep over the past couple days. He groggily searched through his pockets for the key to the private office. Technically he could just go to the main office back down the hall, but he really didn't feel like being around anyone else. The main office was occupied by Miiro and Genji and a bunch of other IJN officers who were trying to coordinate the handful of ships and foreign sailors still remaining at Tokyo Bay. Unfortunately, Fleet Admiral Umi had perished during the battle, leaving much of the coordination of the aftermath to the remaining IJN admirals. Fleet Admiral Kaigan had gone to Sasebo with Admiral Hayama, who was deemed too young and inexperienced to run a whole base by himself.

Coming up empty, Drake scowled at the door as if it would relent and open under his glare. That didn't work, and he angrily kicked the door in his frustration. He then heard someone squeal in fright, and he quickly turned around to catch a flurry of purple hair duck behind the corridor. Wondering what the hell that was, Drake turned the corner to find two girls huddling together in fright, and they shrieked when they saw that he followed them.

"Nooo! I told you this was a bad idea, Akatsuki!" the brown-haired one cried in Japanese.

"W-What are you talking about! I'm not scared!" the purple-haired one, Akatsuki shot back in a trembling voice. She stood up to face Drake, though her eyes betrayed more than a hint of fear.

"Y-Y-You d-don't scare me! I'm a real lady!" Akatsuki shouted in English at Drake.

 _What does being a lady have to do with this?_ "Right… So did you need something from me or what?"

"Oi, he's glaring at us," the brown-haired girl whispered in Japanese.

"Shut up, Ikazuchi!" Akatsuki hushedly replied, then turned back to Drake. "W-We just came to observe you. There's nothing wrong with that, r-right?"

"May I ask why you were observing me, then?" By now Drake had deduced that these two were Japanese ship girls, probably destroyers.

"Wait, you can speak Japanese!" Ikazuchi cried out in shock.

"Yes. Now are you going to answer my question, or…?"

"Uh, we, uh… We heard there was an American officer stationed at this base," Ikazuchi started, averting her gaze.

"They said that you're Davy Jones in disguise and that you kidnap annoying destroyers and scrap them at night!" Akatsuki burst in.

"Oh? And who said that?" Drake asked, amused. He had to admit that these two were really cute.

"It was Kiso! She told us before the mission!" Akatsuki answered fervently.

"Uh huh. And you're sure that she's not just playing a prank on you?"

Akatsuki looked stunned at that. "T-There's no way she would be able to trick a sophisticated lady like me!"

"I think she did, though," Drake said with a smirk. "I haven't scrapped you yet, have I?"

"Don't fall for it, Akatsuki! He's trying to get our guard down!" Ikazuchi insisted.

"... So you figured it out, huh? Well, then, guess I'll have to silence you."

Drake stepped towards the destroyers menacingly, causing them both to scream and sprint away at full speed. The rear admiral grinned as they fled; he never got tired of teasing kids, though both of them were way older than he was…

"What was that screaming about, sir?"

Drake turned to see Bismarck standing by his office door. "Uh… Nothing, really. What are you doing here?"

The blonde pulled out a key from her jacket's pocket. "I happened to be walking by when I saw you enter the building. Also, I found this dropped outside your office door yesterday."

 _Shit, I must have dropped it after locking the door and then forgot to pick it up._ "Oh. Thanks."

She gave him the key and then stood behind him as he finally opened the door. Drake was about to enter the room but noticed Bismarck was still there.

"Did you need something else?"

"I thought you could use some help today with the paperwork," Bismarck said.

"I told you yesterday that I didn't need any help."

"But maybe you changed your mind since then, sir."

"... You're quite persistent. Fine."

Drake sat down at his desk where a mess of paperwork was strewn about, waiting for him. Bismarck sat down on the chair to his right, and Drake casually flipped on the television as well.

"What is the TV for?" Bismarck asked as the screen flared to life.

"Nothing really. I just like to have something on in the background while I work."

The battleship took a look at the news program. "... They're talking about the battle."

"Obviously. That's probably all anyone is talking about right now," Drake replied. "Anyway, I guess I have to teach you how to fill out these forms."

"It's just some forms, sir. No need for that," Bismarck declared confidently.

Drake gave her a blank look. "Somehow I doubt that. You're telling me you know how to log resource consumption according to INFCOM regulations already? And do you know the proper format for writing an after-action report? Do you know how to allocate funding between salaries, resource purchase requests, repairs, and other things and do it all through the proper channels?"

"Er… Well… Maybe you should teach me after all," she blushed in embarrassment.

Drake then spent the next hour or so teaching Bismarck how to do the paperwork that was unfortunately required of an officer in the Kancolle program. Like Kaga and Shoukaku, she was a quick learner, and she was soon able to start helping him get through the work that had piled up. Though Drake had initially not wanted to waste time teaching her, perhaps it was a good investment after all because Shoukaku was in the hospital and Kaga wouldn't be by his side anymore.

The thought of Kaga put Drake in a melancholy mood yet again. He never realized how comforting her quiet presence was during those long hours where they silently sat together filling out paperwork. Sometimes Shoukaku would help as well and sometimes the venue changed from the main office to the private office, but the one thing that remained the same every time was Kaga. And now, she was gone.

"Admiral?"

Drake was snapped out of his thoughts by Bismarck's voice. "What?"

She regarded him with her pretty blue eyes. "Nothing. You just stopped writing for a while. Do you want to take a break? A change of pace is also a good thing, you know."

"I'm fine."

The program on the television was currently playing a clip from an American news station during an interview with a harried-looking congressman.

"We've been working for a while now," Bismarck added.

"If you want to take a break, then go ahead. Nobody's forcing you to be here," Drake gruffly dismissed her.

"Only if you take one too, sir," she insisted.

Sighing, Drake relented. "Fine. We can take a break for a bit."

The pair exited the Administrative Building, and Drake was surprised to see that the sun was already beginning to set.

"Where are we going, sir?" Bismarck asked.

"Uh…" He didn't actually have a destination in mind.

"... Where do you usually go on your breaks?" the German then questioned after Drake couldn't come up with a response.

"Hm… I don't usually take breaks. Most of the time if I felt like stopping, I just went home," he admitted. That ended up leaving Kaga and Shoukaku with the rest of the work, which he doubted they were very happy about.

"How about Houshou's bar, then? Let's go have a beer or three," Bismarck suggested.

"Right now? Really?"

"Yes. What's the problem?"

"Nothing, I guess…"

Somewhat reluctantly, he began following as Bismarck led the way to Houshou's bar.

 _She looks nice even from behind,_ Drake mused, watching her long, blonde hair sway as she walked. _Damn, I think the stress is finally getting to me…_

They arrived at the entrance to the bar, but Drake stopped Bismarck before she could go in.

"Is it even open? You know, uh, Houshou might not be wanting to work right now…"

Bismarck gave him a look. "Admiral, have you ever even been here before? There are other waitresses besides Houshou, and sometimes a few of the destroyers and light cruisers help out too for some extra wages."

"I know, but…"

"And how do you know Houshou isn't here, sir? Some people like to avoid their sorrows by doing more work. Sounds like someone I know, actually," she smirked.

Before Drake could say anything else, Bismarck went inside, so he had no choice but to follow. Once he entered, he was surprised to see that Houshou was in fact there, just like Bismarck had said. Houshou smiled softly at them when they entered.

"Welcome. It's been some time, hasn't it, Rear Admiral Drake?"

"Y-Yeah…"

Drake suddenly felt very guilty. He knew about Houshou's relationship with the other carriers, and so many of them had been hurt or killed under his watch.

Bismarck evidently did not notice and simply sat down at the bar.

"Two beers, please," she ordered, handing Houshou the payment for both up front.

"Coming right up," Houshou said.

With some apprehension, Drake sat down beside Bismarck. The battleship noticed his rigidity and nudged him.

"You look sick, sir. Should we go back…?"

"I'm fine," he brushed her off. "You didn't need to pay for me."

"It's not that much."

Drake then took a moment to study Bismarck. He felt like she was being unusually nice to him ever since the Battle of Okinawa ended. There were two obvious reasons for that: one, she wanted to thank him for helping her defeat the European Princess, or two, she felt bad for him. He hoped it was the former, because being pitied was one of the feelings he hated most, and it was a big reason why he never told anyone about his issues, including his family. However, Kaga was different; instead of pitying him or treating him like some sort of damaged object, she just quietly supported him.

"Ah!" Bismarck suddenly cried out. "It's Graf!"

Drake turned to see that Graf Zeppelin had indeed entered the bar. He did not even know that she was still here, to be honest. _I didn't see her at the hospital. What's she still doing on base if she wasn't receiving treatment?_

"I'll be right back, sir," Bismarck told him before hurrying off to talk to her German comrade.

Drake sat at the bar silently. Houshou's pub was normally a jovial place, but tonight it seemed more subdued than usual. That made sense, of course, but he still felt it. It seemed as if the realities of war had reared their ugly heads once again, and Drake had been trying to forget their horrible faces ever since that day at Tangier. With how comfortable and optimistic the atmosphere had been before this last operation, he had almost been successful. He could still remember the night of the ball at London, and how he had sat so carefree with Fleet Admiral Umi and Yamato, and how the war had felt so distant. Now, they were both gone, casualties of that very same war.

Houshou arrived with the drinks. "Hm? Where did Bismarck go?"

"Over there," Drake jerked his thumb towards where Bismarck and Graf were talking at one of the tables.

"Oh, I see. So your date left you alone, sir?"

Drake didn't have the strength to laugh at that, so he just grunted.

Houshou sat down across the bar from him. "… How are Shoukaku and Zuikaku? I visited Akagi myself and she's making a remarkably quick recovery, but I couldn't see those two because they were being operated on when I went in."

"Shoukaku was awake when I saw her, but Zuikaku is still unconscious. They should both be out before this week ends," he answered, looking down at his mug.

"That's good," Houshou smiled. Then her expression grew more serious. "And… How are you doing, sir?"

Drake looked up at her. _Why are you asking me that? Shouldn't I be the one asking_ you _?_

"I'm fine." He gave his token response.

"It's obvious that you are not," Houshou firmly refused to accept that answer. "Nobody has ever been good enough to successfully hide their emotions from me, sir. I have some experience in these matters."

Drake frowned. She sounded like his mother, and he really didn't feel like talking about this stuff. "I don't know what you want me to say. Aren't _you_ the one who isn't all right?"

"Do I look not all right to you?" Houshou parried.

"Hmph. Then I guess you're just better at hiding your emotions than I am, apparently," Drake replied sourly.

"Well… You would be right, actually," Houshou said. "You see, sir, this isn't my first time having to deal with this. I know it is easy to forget, but all us ship girls have fought in a war before. I have received the news of my carriers sinking in battle so many times before."

"So, what? You're saying you've gotten used to it?"

Houshou shook her head. "Is it really something you can get used to, Rear Admiral?"

Drake gripped his mug of beer tightly. _Then how can she be so calm? Doesn't she feel like I do? Am I the only one who is weak?_

"Don't you blame me, then?" Drake asked in quiet frustration. "I'm the commander who led them in that battle. My strategy caused their deaths."

"Do you really think I should blame you? Or would it just be easier for you that way because then you won't have to blame yourself?" Houshou countered his question. "Admiral Drake… We ship girls are weapons of war. We were the same way back when we were warships too, but what has changed this time is that we have human emotions and feelings, and we can choose who to fight under. Yes, we have our orders, but… I could tell that Kaga trusted you and was happy to fight by your side. And let me tell you, as a soldier, there is no greater pride than giving your all fighting for something or someone that you believe in. I am sad that she is gone, and I wish it did not have to be that way, but I am also happy that she got to live the life that she did as a ship girl. I am happy that she found you, Admiral Drake."

Drake didn't respond and just looked down into the golden-brown hue of the beer. His throat tightened and his eyes felt hot.

About a minute passed before Houshou spoke again. "If you are not busy tonight, then please come to the carrier dorms at ten; there is something I would like to give you. But remember, Admiral Drake, it is not worth it to poison yourself with sadness and despair. Would she really want you to feel only negative emotions every time you thought of her?"

"Y-Yeah. You're right. I'm sorry," Drake managed.

Houshou smiled. "Good. Then I will see you at ten."

Houshou then left to serve other customers, and Drake took a breath before finally tasting some of that beer. He remembered when he came here with Kaga a few times, and though he still felt that pang of regret in his heart, he tried to focus on the good things. Her golden eyes, her reassuring look, and her barely-noticeable but beautiful smile all painted his memories with a comforting glow, and he just needed to warm himself around it.

A few minutes later, Bismarck returned. Without even bothering to sit back down, she picked up her mug and downed its contents in a matter of seconds. Drake looked on, weirded out but slightly impressed as well.

"Ah! Not bad!" Bismarck declared, slamming her empty mug down on the bar. "Hm? Admiral, you haven't even drunk half of it yet! If you're going to waste it, this is the last time I pay for you!"

"Sorry. We can't all drink like a German, I guess…"

"Eh? It doesn't matter, we're out of time. We can't leave that work to pile up you know?" she said.

"Break's over, huh? All right," Drake stood up.

The two of them went back out onto the streets of the naval base, and the sun had mostly set by now.

"Did the alcohol help you feel any better, sir?" Bismarck asked him with a slight smirk.

Drake glanced at her. _Heh. This bitch set me up._

He put his hands in his pocket as he walked. "I guess so. Or maybe it was the company of a beautiful battleship."

"Hah?! How can you say such things so brazenly!" Bismarck blushed.

Drake grinned as Bismarck hid her face under her hat. "Not so fun when you're the one being teased?"

" _Dummkopf!_ "

* * *

The moonlight bathed the night sky in a faint, ethereal white glow when Akagi stepped out of the hospital doors and re-entered the world of the living. Her body had to be patched up and almost entirely replaced in certain places, and so she still felt a bit stiff. Her throat also remained coarse, and of course there were those phantom pains that wouldn't go away for a very long time, if ever…

Akagi began walking in the direction of the carrier dorms. She saw Shoukaku and Zuikaku in the hospital before she left, but both of them were asleep. She asked about them and was told that they would also be released soon, but as for now, it seemed like she was the only carrier in her fleet left standing. With every sandaled step she took towards her home, reluctance seeped into her. Would it still be the same with so many missing, some of whom would never return? Was she ready to face reality?

She shook her head, clearing her mind of those thoughts. She was alive; she had to keep on living.

Akagi arrived at the carrier dorms. Unlike the other dorms, the carrier residence was connected to the archery range and was built mostly in the style of a traditional Japanese home. When she got to the front door, Akagi hesitated. She almost felt like knocking, but she decided against it and just entered. It was still her house, after all.

"I'm home," she muttered to the dark interior, but there was no one to welcome her back.

With a sigh, she took off her sandals and began walking towards her room, her white socks making no noise against the wooden floor. However, almost as she soon as she left the main entrance way, she was met by Houshou.

"Akagi, you're back," Houshou greeted.

"Yeah. How did you know?"

"Intuition, maybe?" Houshou smiled. "Sorry, I forgot to leave the lights on. Are you hungry?"

"No, I'm fine. I think I'm just going to go back to bed…"

"Oh, before you do, why don't you say hello to some of the carriers who are still up? They've been waiting for you all to get out of the hospital," Houshou suggested. "They are in the main room in case you want to drop by."

Akagi went to the main room and slid the door open to see a group of carriers all sitting around a table on the floor, playing some sort of card game. They looked up when she entered.

"So yer finally back, eh?" Ryuujou greeted with a grin.

"Yeah. I made it somehow," Akagi gave them a small smile. "You're still here, Graf?"

" _Ja_. My two admirals are still here too, so I will be departing with them later," the German said.

"Akagi! Ya wanna drink!?" Junyou slurred to Akagi as she held up a bottle of sake that was already empty. Hiyou rubbed her forehead in frustration at her sister's actions.

 _I guess some things don't change,_ Akagi thought as she sat down at the table beside Graf. "So has anything interesting happened while I was gone?"

"Nah. It's been kinda slow around these parts lately," Ryuujou answered. She didn't need to go into detail about why that was.

"I see…"

The carriers sat around the table in silence for a bit. The somber mood was only broken when Junyou finally passed out and slid down onto the table, drooling on its wood finish.

"Oh my god… Unbelievable," Hiyou muttered as she picked up the pink-haired carrier's slumped over figure. "I'll put her to bed. Good night, everyone."

The carriers bid her good night as Ryuujou shook her head. "How is her liver not destroyed by now? She's always drinkin'."

"I suppose ship girls have a stronger tolerance for alcohol," Graf Zeppelin said.

"Eh? Have you seen Ryuujou when she drinks? She is drunk after one cup and then starts getting angry about her breast size," Akagi told her with a smirk.

"Hey! Don't go spoutin' nonsense like that!" Ryuujou denied.

"Oh? This sounds like would be interesting to see. We should go for some beers sometimes, Ryuujou," Graf Zeppelin said.

"I'm tellin' ya, she's lyin'!" Ryuujou cried. "Ah, forget this. I'm going to bed. See ya in the mornin'."

Once Ryuujou left, Graf Zeppelin stood up too. "Perhaps I should go to sleep as well. What about you, Akagi?"

"I already rested at the hospital, but since everyone else is going to bed, there's not much for me to do. I guess I'll just turn in too."

The pair walked out of the main room and towards the hallway containing the bedrooms. "How much longer are you going to be here, Graf?"

"Hm… I am not sure. I will have to ask my admirals," the blonde carrier answered. "There is unrest in Germany as well, so I believe the Kaiser wants the German ship girls to return soon."

"That doesn't sound good," Akagi noted. "There were no Abyssal attacks while I was in the hospital, were there?"

"No. But the people fear they could strike at any time," Graf pointed out.

"I guess that's true… Good night, then," Akagi waved to Graf as she reached her room.

" _Guten nacht_ ," Graf Zeppelin tipped her hat before heading into her own room.

Akagi entered the familiar bedroom where she had lived her entire life as a ship girl. Closing the door and flipping on the lights, the carrier sat down on her bed, her golden eyes fixed on the other empty bed across the room from her.

It was a feeling of emptiness she had never known before. During the Battle of Midway, Akagi had been mangled so hard that she was barely aware of the world around her and did not even get to reminisce much about the sinking of her comrades. Her life as a warship ended for good not too long after Kaga's, and she fell on the same battlefield that her adopted sister did. Now, however, no such thing had happened. Kaga was dead, and Akagi was still here, alone in the room they used to share with nothing but her own thoughts.

She would never again see Kaga's sleeping form when she rolled over during the night. She would never again get to laugh at the groggy look on the normally-stoic carrier's face in the early mornings. She would never again have someone to walk her home and steady her after she had a bit too much to eat or drink.

Suddenly, Akagi couldn't bear to be in that room anymore. She quickly walked out and shut the door behind her, taking a deep breath to collect herself. _The archery range always makes me feel calm… I'll go there._

Akagi made her way over to the connected archery range. There was no way that she could fall asleep right now, so she decided to take up some time through archery practice. Putting her focus into something else would hopefully allow her to take her mind off things.

She went over to where the bows and quivers were hanging on the wall, and she was surprised to see a fully-repaired bow in her usual spot. _Did Houshou have one made for me again?_

But as she reached out for it, she couldn't help but notice the empty slot next to hers. No bow hung on that spot on the wall anymore. Even the blue ribbon that Kaga sometimes tied around her skirt and bow was gone.

Akagi's hand trembled, and she withdrew it.

She had finally been released from the hospital, but she realized now that the real pain was only just beginning to set in. _And it's all because of me… If I weren't so weak, I could have sunk that Abyssal and she would have never killed Kaga. Kaga had to fight two Princesses because of me. How pathetic am I? I failed at Midway, and I failed here too. I can't protect anybody. I'm not fit to be a flagship of a carrier task force. It was a mistake for the Admiral to choose me._

Akagi's watery eyes then turned hard. _The Admiral… That's right. It's the job of the commander to make sure that his ships can win. Why am I putting all the blame on myself? Isn't Admiral Drake the one who deserves to be punished? After all the trust Kaga put in him, this is how he repays her? That American bastard… How could he do this! It's his fault, not mine!_

"Yeah…" Akagi decided in a soft voice. "I-It isn't my fault… I didn't cause her death…"

Akagi grit her teeth and clenched her fists. An intense feeling of frustration welled up inside her, and almost unconsciously, she began storming towards the Administrative Building. It was late at night and she knew Drake wouldn't be there, but she was powered by anger and helplessness. If she didn't at least start moving, she felt like she would just blow up on the spot.

When Akagi approached the Administrative Building, she saw from the back that the window to the Admiral's private office actually _did_ have light emanating from it.

 _He's still here?_ Akagi blinked in surprise. _Well. All the better, then._

The carrier stomped through the front doors, causing the lone, sleeping receptionist to jump up in shock. Akagi continued her march up the stairs, growing more and more heated with every step. _Someone has to pay for this! I'll make him pay if I have to!_

Akagi approached his door, and a bit of nervousness sprang up in the pit of her stomach. Rear Admiral Drake was a bit of a scary figure, with his tall frame, his stocky build, and his dark look, and he seemed like the type of person who could be quite fearsome when pissed off. Still, Akagi needed someone who could take some heat and dish some out too, and if she had to get into a shouting match in order to get Kaga's sinking off her mind, then she would.

With a glare and a scowl all prepared, Akagi pushed open the door to Drake's private office. She opened her mouth to declare war, but her voice died in her throat. Admiral Drake was asleep, slumped over on his desk with his back slowly rising and falling with his breathing. The window was open to the night air, and the television continued to run with a low volume in the background. Clutched tightly in Drake's hand was Kaga's blue ribbon.

A short breeze poured in from the window, and Akagi's anger burnt out almost as quickly as it had come. She turned around and left the office, slowly closing the door behind her.


	40. Fair Seas and Farewell I

"Woah. Take it easy," Drake cautioned as Zuikaku stumbled and grabbed onto him, leaning against his chest. "I told you, put your arm around me as you walk. It's easier that way."

"No way. Do you know how weird that would look?" Zuikaku complained.

"And this doesn't look weird right now?" Drake pointed out, causing Zuikaku to blush and pull away from him.

"Jeez! This wouldn't have happened if those medics just did their job properly!" Zuikaku whined, looking away from him as the heat slowly left her face.

"Yeah. It seems like they ran out of material since some of the girls were so badly injured, so you're just going to have to wait for your Fairies to slowly heal you back to full health," Drake said.

The pair continued onwards, with Zuikaku now reluctantly slinging her arm around her admiral's shoulder as he placed a steadying hand on her waist.

"Are you all right? Your breathing seems really heavy," Drake noticed.

Zuikaku shot him a glare. "I can handle _walking_ , sir."

"Okay, calm down. Christ…"

"So how is my sister?" Zuikaku then asked.

"She's fine, at least I think she is. I haven't seen her in the past couple days."

"Huh? Doesn't she work with you at the office?"

"Yeah, but I told her to take a few days off until she's fully recovered," Drake explained.

"Really? I'm surprised she agreed to that. Normally Shoukaku would want to make up for all the work that she missed," Zuikaku said.

Drake frowned at that. "Well, she didn't say anything. Maybe she just doesn't want to be around me anymore."

"What? Why not?" the twintailed carrier asked in a puzzled tone.

"Oh, uh… Well, uh… The last battle didn't go too well," was all Drake managed, looking away from Zuikaku. He knew that Zuikaku already knew about Hiryuu, Souryuu, and Kaga at this point, but it still did not feel good to say that directly.

"I mean, yeah, but… Is she really mad at you for that?" Zuikaku questioned.

"I don't know. You're her sister, so you know her better than I do."

Zuikaku shook her head. "It's _your_ relationship with her we're talking about, sir. You would know that better than I would."

Drake sighed. "Thanks for all your help."

"Hey, don't be getting sarcastic with me," Zuikaku said disapprovingly. "Why didn't you just ask her yourself?"

"How could I possibly ask something like that?" Drake replied incredulously.

"Just like you would ask any other question," Zuikaku grinned cheekily. "Not that hard, sir."

"Okay, then. What about you, Zuikaku? Are _you_ mad at me?"

Zuikaku blinked, not expecting the question. "M-Me? Of course not."

"Why not?"

"What do you mean, 'Why not'?" Zuikaku asked with a scowl. "Do you want me to be angry at your something?"

"Obviously not," Drake denied. "But I… I just…"

Zuikaku's voice grew quieter. "I assume you've read the after action report from one of the Allied carriers, sir? It's clear that we all made mistakes during that battle. I also think that if I did things differently, then maybe all this wouldn't have happened. If I'm going to be mad at you, then you also need to be mad at me."

"But I'm the admiral. I have more responsibility than you do, and I deserve more of the blame," Drake pointed out.

Zuikaku just smirked at that. "Look at you, being all mature. Don't forget that all of us ship girls are way older than you, sir. There's no need for you to try and be the only adult among us, because considering our age, it's ridiculous."

"Okay, grandma. I'll keep that in mind," Drake smirked back at her.

That response earned him a prompt jab in the side. "… But seriously, it's pointless for us to sit around and try to figure out who to assign the most blame to. Does that really sound like a good use of our time when what we should be doing is figuring out a way to beat the Abyssals?"

"I agree, actually. I just didn't know if you all felt the same way," Drake said.

"Yeah…" Zuikaku trailed off. "How is Akagi doing?"

"She seems fine to me. She was acting fairly normally, but I haven't really spoken to her by myself yet," Drake told her.

"Really? I thought that maybe… You know, losing Kaga would be hard on her…"

"Hm. Yeah, I thought the same, but she didn't seem angry or depressed at all," the rear admiral stated. "Maybe she's just keeping it to herself, I don't know."

"I see. And you, sir?"

"What about me?" Drake looked away guiltily.

"Nothing. I just thought you and Kaga were pretty close to each other," Zuikaku said. "I never knew how to read Kaga, even though I've already fought one war with her. But when you came along, you seemed to understand her almost immediately. I still don't get how, but you're the one who made me see Kaga in a different light, and after you became our admiral, she became easier to understand as time went on. One thing's for sure: I know she really liked you, sir."

"Yeah, I… Yeah. I know," Drake managed in a low voice.

Zuikaku glanced at him. "Um, sorry. I didn't mean to make you -"

"Nah, it's all right," Drake interrupted, collecting himself.

Zuikaku gave him a sad smile. "It's hard for me too. I mean, I know me and Kaga fought lot, but I never disliked her, I guess. She was always the type of carrier I wanted to be, and I really admired her strength, if I'm being honest. I never thought that she would lose to anyone, but…"

"If she had a better commander, maybe she wouldn't have," Drake replied in a tortured tone, but then yelped as Zuikaku jabbed him in the side again. "W-What was that for?!"

"What did we _just_ talk about, sir?" Zuikaku frowned at him.

"Right. My bad."

"Listen up, Admiral Drake," Zuikaku started, her voice and countenance serious. "I'm going to find and kill that bitch of an Abyssal who sunk Kaga, and I'm going to find all her friends and kill them too. I won't rest until every Abyssal in that carrier fleet is sitting at the bottom of the ocean, and I want you to help me."

Drake's brown eyes flashed with intensity. "Now that is something I can definitely agree to."

The pair reached the carrier dorms, where they found Shoukaku waiting for them outside. The white-haired carrier's face lit up when she saw Zuikaku, but she quickly recovered her professional air and saluted her admiral.

"Good morning, sir. Thank you for bringing my sister here. I hope we didn't burden you too much."

"Like I said to Houshou, I was heading to the hospital anyway, so it wasn't a big deal," Drake said.

"Thank you. I will take her off your hands," Shoukaku offered, reaching over to Zuikaku.

"That isn't necessary, jeez," Zuikaku complained again, shaking free of Drake's grip and avoiding Shoukaku's arms as well. "I'm not some sort of cripple, you know."

"Really? Then why were you saying, "It hurts so much, Admiral! Please carry me in your big, strong arms!" back in front of the hospital?" Drake teased.

"That's not how it went!" Zuikaku blushed.

"Oh, my. Zuikaku, how bold…" Shoukaku covered her mouth with her hands in mock shock.

"Not you too!" Zuikaku shouted in despair. "That's it! I'm going inside!"

"Wait! Don't hurt yourself, Zuikaku!" Shoukaku worried after her sister, briefly bowing to Drake before following Zuikaku.

However, Zuikaku turned around and stopped Shoukaku. "Wait a second. The Admiral came all this way and you're not even going to talk to him? I'm fine on my own, Shoukaku."

Both Drake and Shoukaku were confused as Zuikaku went inside.

 _Is she trolling me or something?_ Drake wondered.

"Ah, um, forgive my rudeness, sir! I didn't know you wanted to speak to me," Shoukaku said.

"I didn't, though," Drake replied, but he then remembered that he and Zuikaku _did_ talk about Shoukaku on their walk back. That must be why Zuikaku had her sister stay. "Oh, wait. There was something. Is there a reason why you haven't been coming in to the office?"

Shoukaku looked confused. "But… I thought you gave me some days off, sir. Did I take too much time? I'm sorry!"

"It's not that. Is there something bothering you?" Drake decided to just outright ask her.

"W-What do you mean, sir?"

"I think the question was pretty clear," Drake pressed. "I know I gave you a few days off, and it's fine if you want a break from work, but I can't help but get the feeling that you're avoiding me. Why?"

Shoukaku looked down. "I… I don't know what you mean…"

"That's not a very convincing answer," Drake noted. "Just tell me your reasons, and that's an order. I promise that I won't get angry."

"... Okay. I didn't want to see you," Shoukaku admitted, a bit reluctantly. "It just felt bad everytime I looked at you. I'm sorry."

Drake was sort of expecting this, but it was still painful to hear it. "I see…"

"It made me feel guilty," Shoukaku continued, surprising Drake. "When you came to visit me in the hospital, I already knew that Kaga had sunk. But when you told me yourself, your eyes looked so sad. I'm sorry, but I don't want to see that look anymore. After everything that's happened, seeing my admiral's face of despair… Maybe it was just 'the straw that broke the camel's back,' as they say, but…"

Shoukaku then began sniffling, and she reached up to wipe a few stray tears from her eyes. Drake just stood there, wondering how he could have misinterpreted the situation so badly. _That's right. I'm still the commander, and I can't go around looking like a kicked dog. This fleet has already lost their secretary ship, and they don't need to lose their admiral as well._

Drake walked over to Shoukaku, who was trying but failing to keep her tears in check. Though he was terrible at comforting people and always felt awkward in situations like this, Drake decided that he had caused enough damage and pulled Shoukaku into a hug. The white-haired carrier sobbed into his chest, staining his uniform with her tears.

They stood like that for a few minutes before Shoukaku's sniffling finally died down.

"Urgh… I'm sorry, sir," Shoukaku apologized as she wiped the wetness from her eyes.

"It's all right," Drake assured her, then put his hands on her shoulders. "No matter what happens, I won't ever give up the fight, Shoukaku. I hope I can count on you to stay by my side."

She smiled. "Yes, sir!"

"Aw, isn't that sweet," Zuikaku called out as she suddenly opened the door to the dorms, causing Shoukaku and Drake to jump in surprise. The green-haired carrier wore a satisfied, smug smirk on her face.

"Z-Zuikaku! Were you there the whole time?" Shoukaku asked, blushing furiously.

Zuikaku laughed. "Yep! And I had a wonderful view too!"

Drake decided that it was time he took his leave. The blushing admiral nodded to Shoukaku and then quickly turned away, but not before shooting one last glare at Zuikaku, who only laughed harder at that.

* * *

"I'm telling you, it's true!" Ikazuchi said animatedly to her sister Hibiki, who was lazily dangling her legs from where she sat at the edge of the docks. Inazuma was also seated beside Hibiki, but she looked more nervous than the white-haired destroyer.

"It's true, really!" Akatsuki nodded fervently. "The American tried to grab us, but me and Ikazuchi were too fast for him! We barely escaped with our lives!"

"N-No way, that can't be true, nanodesu!" Inazuma cried. "Right, Hibiki? They're making it up! They h-have to be!"

"Hm… Rear Admiral Drake? He didn't do anything to me the last time I saw him," Hibiki replied off-handedly.

"Then you were lucky," Ikazuchi pouted. "He tried to trick us by speaking Japanese and acting friendly, but then he attacked! He was truly fearsome!"

"Is that so…?"

"Don't make light of it, Hibiki!" Akatsuki waved her arms.

"Oh…"

"Hmph. She won't understand," Ikazuchi frowned as she sat down. "Just hope you don't run into him for the remainder of our time on this base. He'll probably try and hold you hostage so he can drag us out and finish us off for good."

"S-Scary!" Inazuma muttered.

Hibiki cast a sidelong glance at Inazuma. "Don't tell me you believe them."

"Um, I…"

Hibiki sighed. "How about this. I will go to his office right now, and the three of you can watch me. I guarantee I won't be caught and scrapped."

"No! It's too dangerous!" Akatsuki and Ikazuchi yelled at the same time.

"You do realize he has Japanese destroyers under his command, right?" Hibiki pointed out. "Why haven't they been scrapped yet?"

"He needs to keep a few of us alive as brainwashed pawns," Akatsuki explained as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

Ikazuchi nodded. "Yeah! Who's gonna do his dirty work?"

Hibiki didn't have the energy to argue with them anymore. "Fine, if that's what you want to believe…"

"Wait, nanodesu!" Inazuma then shouted, springing to her feet. "I-Is that…!"

The other three destroyers looked over to where Inazuma was pointing and saw a figure heading their way. It was a tall, burly man with long, gray sideburns and piercing blue eyes, and he wore a dark blue admiral's uniform but with a long military coat. On his head was a military-style ushanka fur hat instead of a traditional officer's cap.

"Oh no! He's coming this way! It's the American, isn't it!" Inazuma panicked.

"Wait, no, that's not him," Ikazuchi shook her head. "This is some other weirdo. Look at how he's dressed, haha!"

The uniform looked vaguely familiar to Hibiki. "Perhaps he is from the Russian navy?"

The man got closer and saluted the destroyers. " _Privyet_ , ship girls. I am Admiral Borodin of the Second Soviet Russian Navy."

The destroyers saluted back, almost on reflex. They looked confused as to why the Russian was talking to them, though.

"You," Borodin pointed to Hibiki. "You are Verniy, are you not?"

Hibiki nodded slowly. " _Da_. I was Hibiki of the Imperial Japanese Navy before I entered into service of the Motherland."

"Yes, I am aware. Regardless, your skills would be best put to use in the Russian navy, don't you agree?" Borodin smiled, though his icy eyes held no warmth. "Perhaps it is time you rejoined our forces, Verniy."

"Wait! What are you talking about?" Akatsuki interjected.

"Perhaps you do not know of your sister's remodel, my loudmouthed, purple-haired friend?" Borodin said.

"Of course we know about that," Ikazuchi cut in, "what we're saying is that you can't just come in here and impress Hibiki into your service."

"Yeah! Japan needs her, nanodesu!" Inazuma also added bravely.

Borodin scowled. "You three are quite small, but quite troublesome as well. Here."

The Russian reached into his coat pocket and handed Akatsuki a rolled up document. Akatsuki unfurled it as her sisters gathered around her, and they silently read over the paper.

"No way! This is a forgery!" Ikazuchi cried out after she finished reading.

Borodin frowned. "Don't be a brat. It is a real document signed by your government. Hibiki is to be handed over to Russia for the next five months at minimum."

"Y-You can't do this!" Akatsuki stomped her feet.

"Are you not warships? Why must you act like children!" Borodin thundered in frustration. "Regardless, your wishes will not be taken into account. This is what will happen no matter what any of you want."

"This is unfair!" Ikazuchi continued. "Right, Hibiki? Tell him!"

Hibiki smiled at her sisters. "Well… At the very least, it's under better circumstances than last time…"

"See? True Russians don't kick and scream," Borodin declared proudly upon Hibiki's answer.

" _Khorosho_!" a new voice suddenly spoke.

While the Akatsuki-class had been distracted in their argument, a woman with messy silver hair had arrived on the scene. She grinned heartily and had a pipe in between her teeth, and she crossed her arms and eyed the Japanese destroyers.

"You see! Verniy has made her choice," the woman said.

"Who the hell are you supposed to be?" Ikazuchi demanded.

"It's Miss Gangut, a battleship from Russia," Inazuma informed them. "I remember she and Hibiki were talking together before the operation."

"You must be the one spoiling Hibiki's mind with Red propaganda!" Akatsuki accused, causing Gangut to chuckle.

"Nobody is spreading any propaganda," Hibiki quickly said before the argument could escalate. "And I'm not making any sort of choice either. Japan signed that document, didn't they? There's nothing we can do."

"So you're just giving up!?" Akatsuki cried incredulously.

Hibiki shook her head. "They said five months; it's not as if I will be gone forever. Besides, the last time I went to Russia was after all three of you had already sunk and Japan had been defeated. But now, you are all still alive, and if I know that, then even the Russian winter won't be so cold."

"Waaah!" Ikazuchi latched onto Hibiki as she cried. "I d-don't want you to leave!"

"I will be back. I promise," Hibiki smiled as she patted her sister's back.

"Something going on here? I heard screaming," a second masculine voice entered the conversation.

Akatsuki froze as Rear Admiral Richard Drake walked over. He also had the battleship Bismarck with him, but she didn't really care about that.

"He's here! It's over!" Akatsuki wailed.

"Wait, what?" Drake said, taken aback.

Admiral Borodin looked over Drake briefly. "That uniform… An American. Do you have business here?"

"Not really, but it's my base so I'm free to go where I please," Drake shot back.

"Noooo!" Inazuma shouted. "I won't let you scrap them!"

The small destroyer rushed at Drake, who was too shocked to do anything. However, before Inazuma could reach him, Gangut stuck out her foot, tripping Inazuma and causing the destroyer to faceplant.

"Ack -!" Inazuma cried out, and Hibiki sighed as she went over to help her sister up.

" _Khorosho_. Now we are even for that bottle of alcohol, Cub," Gangut grinned at Drake.

"Right…" was all Drake could say, as he was still confused as to why Inazuma even charged him in the first place.

Borodin then noticed Bismarck. "My God! Are they actually letting Nazis walk around in the open now?"

"Excuse me?" Bismarck glared at him.

"Your outfit," Borodin said. "It is a disgrace. All traces of the Nazis should remain buried in the ground, just as the Soviets intended when we rolled over Berlin with our tanks."

"The only things that should be buried in the ground are the slavic, communist trash that go around posing as humans!" Bismarck retorted viciously.

"Woah, let's not get genocidal here," Drake interrupted. "Can't you see there are destroyers here? The two of you should learn some decency."

Borodin only smirked at that. "Well, well, if the Nazis have now been reduced to licking the boots of their American masters, perhaps that _is_ a better fate for them after all."

Bismarck stepped forward, only to be restrained by Drake's firm hand on her shoulder. Gangut also moved in front of her admiral, amused by the proceedings as she puffed smoke from her pipe.

"Can we try and act like adults here?" Drake sighed. He was definitely the youngest one present, but he felt like he was dealing with a bunch of unruly elementary schoolers.

"Hmph. I am done here," Admiral Borodin decided. "Verniy. Report to the docks at 1500 tomorrow. Come, Gangut."

"Ah, I have business here for a bit," Gangut said.

"Fine. Do not take too long."

"Well, that was eventful," Drake frowned as the Russian officer left.

"You must excuse my admiral. In Russia, you only gain power by beating down others," Gangut said, removing her pipe from her mouth. "Not that I disagree with anything he said, but…"

"Do you want to die, _schwein_?" Bismarck narrowed her eyes.

"Ahaha, look how that pretty face contorts in anger!" Gangut smiled devlishly. "I'd love to see if you can make that face again after spending a few months in a Soviet prison!"

"Okay, you two can try and kill each other if you want, but leave me out of this. Bye," Drake turned around.

"Wait!" Ikazuchi called out to the American. "Aren't you gonna try and scrap us?"

Akatsuki elbowed her. "Why'd you remind him!"

Drake turned back to them. "Why would I -"

It was then that he remembered how he had scared Akatsuki and Ikazuchi off the other day.

"Oh. You guys do realize that I was just messing with you, right?" Drake told them.

"See. I told you," Hibiki said flatly.

The other three destroyers glanced at each other after Drake made no further moves to assault them.

"Hm. I might scrap Kiso since she's the one who spread the rumors, though," Drake added as he held his chin in his hand in a thinking pose.

All the destroyers except Hibiki shrieked at that, and the white-haired ship girl just sighed in defeat.

"Sir, please… You are not the one who has to deal with their screaming later," Hibiki said.

Drake smirked. "Yeah, sorry. Okay, I'm done joking now. I won't be scrapping anybody… Not that I really have the authority to even do so in the first place, but whatever."

"Thank you, sir. Also, I believe they may be getting out of hand," Hibiki nodded towards Bismarck and Gangut.

The two battleships had their hands locked together as they grappled with each other. Bismarck had an angry look on her face as she gritted her teeth, and Gangut, though she was rapidly losing ground, still wore an amused expression even as Bismarck pushed her back.

"All right, that's enough," Drake said as he lightly slapped Bismarck on the ass on top of her coat, immediately making the German let go of Gangut.

"Admiral?! What are you doing!" Bismarck shouted as she blushed in embarrassment.

"Bad girls get punished," Drake wagged his finger mockingly as he grinned.

" _Khorosho_! Let me try too!" Gangut declared gleefully as she reached out and grabbed a handful of Bismarck's breasts.

"Kyaaa!" Bismarck screeched as she shoved Gangut to the ground and covered her breasts with her hands.

"Ah, they have a nice firmness to them," Gangut nodded in appreciation. "You can feel mine as well, Fascist. Come to Gangut!"

"I will pass," Bismarck glared at her.

"Oh? A shame. How about you, Cub?"

"Sure, why not?"

"No, you can't!" Bismarck yelled. "You are both uncouth savages! The people of Berlin must have endured such horror when the city fell to your armies!"

"Come now. It is just some wartime stress relief," Gangut justified, enjoying seeing Bismarck's discomfort. "The Cub and I have already gone much further than that back at London, so it is no big deal for us. Right, Rear Admiral?"

"Of course, I remember it well," Drake nodded, unable to stop teasing Bismarck too.

"Y-You're lying!" Bismarck's face went pale.

Bismarck's horrified look was too much for Drake to take, and he burst out laughing.

"Haha! You ruined it, Cub!" Gangut stood up and dusted herself off.

"S-Sorry! Her face, though!" Drake tried to recover his calm as the destroyers watched him curiously. "Hehe…. Oh shit, it's already this late! I have an email to send, so I gotta go! Don't get into anymore fights, Bismarck!"

The rear admiral then rushed off back towards the Administrative Building, leaving the ship girls alone. The Japanese girls decided it was time to go as well, and Hibiki bid Gangut farewell as she and her sisters made their exit.

Gangut watched them leave as she lit her pipe once again. "So, Fascist, are you going to murder me now that the witnesses are gone?"

"Thank you."

"... What?" Gangut looked at Bismarck with a bewildered expression.

"N-Nothing," Bismarck blushed again, pulling her hat down a bit to hide her face. "It's just that lately the Admiral… Never mind, okay! Forget I said anything!"

Before Gangut could reply, Bismarck speed-walked away. Gangut just chuckled to herself as her pipe trailed smoke into the calm evening air.


	41. Fair Seas and Farewell II

_A/N: Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays. Unfortunately the only gift I can give you is another chapter of this story, so that will have to do..._

* * *

Fubuki sat on a small grassy slope nearby the beach, her hands busy peeling an orange. She struggled with the skin a bit before finally getting it to give, and as she popped a slice in her mouth, she looked out over the sea, which glittered under the early summer sun like a field of sapphires.

She had been out there training this morning along with Amatsukaze and Sendai, but she couldn't help but think that the sea still felt empty. Ever since the operation ended, Fubuki's fleet had not resumed their regular training sessions. It was obvious as to why since their secretary ship had sunk and a few others from the fleet were still in the hospital, but it still left her with a longing sadness. In the past few months, Fubuki had really enjoyed being a part of this fleet even though she was away from her sisters, but now it felt like that was all coming to an end. Kaga was dead, and she hadn't seen her admiral since they arrived back at the base.

 _I wish there was something I could do… But I'm just one destroyer. I can't change what's happened,_ Fubuki thought glumly.

Would she ever get to sortie with her fleet again? On one hand, Okinawa had been taken and the Abyssals were stronger than ever, so the world needed the ship girls. But on the other hand, the navies of the world had suffered an enormous defeat, and the ship girls and sailors were demoralized and injured.

 _Are we going to lose this war too?_ Fubuki wondered. Back when she had first learned the details of the Abyssal conflict, she had thought that impossible. It wasn't just Japan anymore, and now all the countries of the world were fighting together as one against a common foe instead of fighting each other. With that sort of unity and strength, how could they lose? But after the battle for Okinawa…

 _Maybe I should just give up after all. What's the point of coming out here and training in the morning if it's just the three of us? Two destroyers and a light cruiser can't defeat the Abyssals. If even our commander and our secretary ship were beaten, what chance does someone like me have? Why should I continue wasting my time? I'm just going to sink in the end, aren't I?_

Those defeatist thoughts made Fubuki uncomfortable, and she let out a long sigh.

"Oh? That was quite the sigh just now."

"... Huh? Oh - Akagi!" Fubuki exclaimed in surprise as the carrier sat down beside her.

"Good morning," Akagi smiled. "Were you out training today, Fubuki?"

"Y-Yeah," the destroyer replied, almost guiltily.

Akagi fixed her eyes on the sea. "That's good. Best to keep in shape, no?"

"Yeah…" _If only she knew what I was thinking about just now…_

Akagi smirked and cast a sidelong glance at Fubuki. "Hm… You're saying, 'Yeah,' but you sound unsure of yourself. Not many people sigh in sadness after a satisfying training session."

 _Agh, she caught me._ "Well, um, the truth is… I was just thinking about how the fleet doesn't train together anymore."

"I see." Akagi turned her gaze back to the ocean. "Some of our members are still in the hospital, no?"

"Yeah. So are we going to go back to training together after they're out?"

Akagi was silent.

Fubuki looked down. "Oh…"

"I'm sorry, Fubuki. I don't know the answer to that," Akagi admitted. "It's not really up to me, is it? The Admiral and Shoukaku are the leaders of this fleet, and it's their job to restart operations."

"And you don't think they will?" Fubuki asked, her eyes still hopeful.

"Like I said, I don't know," Akagi replied. "What I do know, however, is that if the fleet is patched back together again, each individual ship needs to be ready. We can't have anybody slacking or in poor shape because she already gave up. That includes you and me."

"So… You're going to keep training too?"

Akagi nodded. "I was only recently released from the hospital so I've been confined to the archery range, but soon I'll be back out on the water."

"Really?" Fubuki said, almost in awe. "You're still going to fight? Even after Kaga -"

Fubuki quickly stopped herself.

Akagi smiled sadly. "It's all right; there is no need to dance around the subject. Yes, Kaga is gone. And yes, it hurts me. But what will hurt me even more is doing nothing to avenge her death. What would Kaga say if I never picked up my bow again? What would her sacrifice have meant if the Abyssals just win in the end anyway?"

The carrier paused for a moment as a small breeze passed through, making the grass they were sitting on sway gently.

"Kaga never saw this war in terms of personal achievements or individual feelings," Akagi then said. "That's why she seemed so distant and aloof. Her goal was always to do the best for the fleet as a whole, and for humanity. I'm sure she'd admonish us for sitting here and feeling sad over her death if she could. But as calm and professional as Kaga tried to act, as a ship girl, she still had emotions. I know there were people she cared about like me, Houshou, and - Yeah."

Akagi smiled. "The difference is that Kaga used her emotions to make herself stronger in battle instead of letting them hold her back. Isn't that the true purpose of us ship girls anyway? It's the advantage we have over our past warship selves. We were born again into these forms for a reason, and it's up to us to find that reason… And maybe that reason is something that we have to teach each other, and though Kaga's gone now, I think I'm finally learning."

The carrier stood up. "Fubuki. I can't force you to fight, and neither can the Admiral nor anybody else. All I can do is tell you why I'm fighting and hope that you can learn something from it."

As Akagi walked away, Fubuki stared after her, her face glowing with admiration.

 _Wow, Akagi is impressive as always,_ Fubuki thought. _But what's more is that she's right… Why did I even come out to train this morning? It wasn't out of habit, or because I felt like I had to… I just want to be useful to everyone. Has that goal changed after Okinawa?_

She knew the answer to that. If she had only been working hard up until now because it was something that was required of her, then yes, she could give up at this point. But if she was working hard because it made her feel proud, then no matter how slim the odds of victory were, she wouldn't stop now. Even if she were sunk in battle by the Abyssals, she would never truly be defeated if she could die knowing that she never gave up on her goal.

 _Yeah. If even Akagi, who lost her sister, can still fight, then what's my excuse?_ Fubuki smiled confidently and accidentally crushed the orange in her hand in excitement. _I won't disappoint Akagi, and more importantly, I won't disappoint myself. Target practice after lunch it is, then!_

* * *

"So… What do I write here again?"

"It's the resource usage deviation from the standard monthly average aggregate by all Kancolle admirals. Didn't I already explain this to you?"

"Sorry. _Mein Gott…_ "

Bismarck and Drake sat together in the private office, trying to complete the last stack of paperwork that still remained. Shoukaku had shown up to the office yesterday, but Drake had just given her more days off because he heard that Zuikaku was still having trouble moving around by herself. She would be back tomorrow, most likely, but in the meantime, it was just Drake and Bismarck at the office.

"Hey, Bismarck," Drake started. "What do you think about taking the flagship position?"

Bismarck paused to look at him. "You want _me_ to be a flagship?"

"Yeah. I mean, you already know how to do most of the paperwork, and you managed to survive in battle against a Princess, so you're definitely strong enough for it too," Drake explained. "What's wrong? You don't want to do it?"

"Ah, no, it's not that," Bismarck frowned. "I was just wondering if the other girls would accept that… I haven't been here as long as them, and I'm not Japanese either."

"Both of those things go for me as well, and yet I'm still the admiral," Drake pointed out. "If anyone has a problem with it, they can come and talk to me and try and back up their argument. But I've already thought about this, and I can't think of a better choice than you."

Bismarck blushed slightly at that, but quickly looked away. "Then is Shoukaku going to be the secretary ship from now on?"

"Secretary ship?" Drake repeated. "I… I haven't really thought of that. I don't know. Do we really even need one?"

Bismarck glanced back at him. "I would think so."

"It seems this system works fine, though."

"How do you know, sir?" Bismarck asked firmly. "Our fleet hasn't done anything at all since the operation ended. On the battlefield, having two leaders with equal power may not be the best idea."

"Yeah, you're probably right," Drake was forced to admit. "I'll think about it, I guess. What about you? Didn't you want to be the secretary ship at one point?"

Bismarck blinked. "M-Me?"

"Why do you look so surprised? You literally challenged Kaga to fight over it," Drake reminded her.

"Yeah, but that was a while ago," Bismarck said, embarrassed. She pulled her cap down. "Now, though… I don't know."

"Your face is red." Drake wore an amused smirk.

"Of course it is! You reminded me of something embarrassing!"

But to tell the truth, Bismarck was not hesitating out of embarrassment. The secretary ship… That position held special significance. At first, Bismarck had just assumed that it was a rank denoting power and prestige, such as the flagship position. That was certainly how it had been back in the Grand European Fleet. But after Bismarck had gotten the opportunity to observe Kaga's relationship with Drake, she began to see things in a different light. If she became the secretary ship now, would she be able to lead the fleet the same way Kaga had? Would she be able to help her admiral the same way Kaga had?

No. She would not be able to be the type of secretary ship that Kaga was. If she took up the position, she would just be like a standard secretary ship, and she was sure that her admiral would be disappointed at the huge downgrade. She didn't believe that Shoukaku could fill Kaga's shoes either, but if it were Shoukaku instead of her, then at least Shoukaku would be the one disappointing the Admiral, not Bismarck. Bismarck felt bad for thinking that way, but she couldn't deny that this was how she felt… And maybe the Admiral knew this as well, which is why he was hesitant to name a new secretary ship.

The rest of the afternoon continued on silently, with both Drake and Bismarck focusing on the work in front of them. Eventually, the two of them reached the end of the pile, and almost all of the paperwork had been dealt with.

Drake leaned back in his seat and let out a breath of relief. "Finally. Can't believe it took this long."

Bismarck put down her pen, thankful to give her writing hand a rest. "What do we do now? Do we mail this back to London?"

"Yeah. I've also got to scan it and then send it through email," Drake added.

"... Then why didn't we just do this all on the computer in the first place? Surely that would have been faster?"

Drake gave her a look. "Do you even know how to use a computer?"

"O-Of course I do!" Bismarck blushed. "I could figure it out, anyway…"

"Old people and technology never mix well," Drake shook his head as he smiled.

"Who are you calling old!"

"Either way, INFCOM regulations require me to send one copy of each document through email and another physical copy through military mail, so it wouldn't matter," Drake said. "Most of these documents also require signatures anyway. The only thing I usually type out are the combat reports."

"Okay. Then hurry up and send them in so we can get out of here."

"Can't that wait until tomorrow?" Drake sighed.

"Never save for tomorrow what you can do today, sir," Bismarck told him matter-of-factly.

"I can't do it today, though. I'm too tired."

"Here, have some coffee then," Bismarck held out her mug to him.

"You already drank from that cup," Drake said.

"So?"

"I don't want your Nazi germs," Drake smirked teasingly at her.

"What! You should consider yourself blessed to even be in the presence of the Aryan master race!" Bismarck declared, standing up and puffing her chest out.

"The Aryan master race can kiss my ass," Drake grinned. Getting her worked up over dumb things like this never ceased to amuse him.

Bismarck stepped towards Drake "Oh, yeah? Well -"

In her fervor, Bismarck did not notice the wire from the computer that was plugged into a nearby outlet, and she tripped over it. Drake reached out and managed to grab her before she hit the ground, but he could not save the cup of coffee that was in her hand, unfortunately. The two watched with horror as the beverage sailed through the air and doused one of the completed stacks of paperwork in dark brown liquid.

"... Are you fucking kidding me," Drake groaned.

Bismarck leapt out of Drake's arms and rifled through the stack. Luckily they had split the paperwork piles into multiple different stacks so most of the papers remained untouched, but still, many of the files in this particular stack had been ruined.

" _Scheisse_ …" Bismarck frowned.

"Good work, Bismarck," Drake said sarcastically.

She turned to him. "This would have never happened if you hadn't annoyed me!"

"Come on, you can't possibly blame this on me," Drake glared at her.

To Drake's surprise, instead of taking another jab at him, Bismarck just sighed and tossed the ruined papers back onto the desk. " _Entschuldigung_. I suppose it was my fault."

"Uh… All right. Then you're prepared to make up for it, right?"

Bismarck sat back down and rubbed her forehead as she looked at the stained files. "If I must…"

"Okay. Then I'll print out the files that need to be redone, and you can fill them out again," Drake told her. "Think of it as extra practice."

Bismarck certainly didn't look happy about it, but she nodded nonetheless. Drake printed out new, blank versions of the ruined paperwork and dropped the stack in front of Bismarck.

"I'm going out for a bit. I'll be back to check on your progress," Drake told her as he patted her on the back reassuringly.

" _Jawohl…_ "

Drake headed out of the Administrative Building without a set destination in mind. He didn't like being cooped up in the same spot for too long, especially if it was for work, so he just decided to take a walk around the base. The summer season was starting to fade, and the sun was obscured today by the layer of clouds overhead. Unlike most people, Drake actually liked cloudy days, so he found the atmosphere relatively calming.

 _Now, then, where should I go?_

Almost without knowing it, Drake found himself wandering towards a spot where he had been going fairly often recently. It was that grassy hill that overlooked the beach and the ocean, and he spent more time than he should just standing there, gazing out at the water with his hands in his pockets and the sea breeze dancing around him. However, this time, there was someone else there.

Akagi turned around when she heard Drake's footsteps. Her golden eyes went wide with surprise for a brief moment, but she quickly recovered and saluted. "Admiral."

Drake returned her salute. "Akagi. Good afternoon."

The rear admiral felt slightly awkward. He hadn't really interacted with Akagi after the operation ended, and out of all the ship girls, he felt like she would be the one who would hate him the most for what had happened. He couldn't blame her, of course, but he also did not want to face her. He had been avoiding her, and he guessed that maybe she had been avoiding him as well. But now they were face-to-face, even if it was unintentional.

"Did you come here for the same reason I did?" Akagi immediately asked him.

The question was vague, yet simultaneously so direct that it caught Drake off-guard. "... Yeah."

Akagi nodded. "It's so vast and uniform when you look at it from here, isn't it? The ocean, I mean."

The carrier turned back to face the sea. "It's so tranquil and beautiful that it's easy to forget how many stories it holds. How many bonds were forged on those waves? How many were lost? How many souls rest deep down underneath, lost forever in an eternal slumber?"

Drake stood by silently.

"I am curious, Admiral. What do you think of when you come out here?"

"I'd rather not say," Drake replied.

Akagi looked at him again. "I suppose that's fine. It is your own business, after all. But if you don't mind me asking, does the sight of the sea fill you with positive emotions, or negative recollections?"

Again, Drake remained silent, partly because he didn't even know how to answer that. _I've lost so much on those waters, and I've caused so much damage too… And yet, I still feel a sense of wonder and hope every time I look at it. I've never thought about why that is._

Akagi stepped closer to Drake, so close that their bodies were almost touching. Drake thought that maybe she was about to hit him, but he didn't have the willpower to move away.

"Soldiers die in battle all the time, sir," Akagi said. "But as long as those who remain alive continue to fight for the cause that they sacrificed themselves for, then they are never truly dead."

She then walked away, leaving Drake alone on the outcrop. He walked over towards the edge and stared out at the bay's waters. It appeared that Akagi at the very least did not hate him, and from her words, it was clear as to why. Though Kaga may be gone, Akagi did not want to forget the person that Kaga was, and the things that she lived her life for. Drake realized that he definitely did not want to forget either.

After standing on the cliff for another long stretch of time, Drake finally stepped away and headed back onto the streets of the naval base. It was well into the evening now, and he figured that Bismarck was about done with the paperwork. He was about to go back to the Administrative Building, but then decided to make a detour to the base's supermarket, which was basically just a giant Japanese convenience store.

He had been to the market many times, as it was where he and most of the base's residents bought their groceries and other goods. The Tokyo Bay Base was actually a fair bit away from the city itself, and since very few people on base actually owned a car, it was difficult to go to and from the base. Therefore, the supermarket was stocked with all kinds of items, and the residents of the base could usually find what they were looking for there.

The one section that the store was lacking in was their selection of alcohol, and ever since Gangut had drank the one good bottle that Drake had bought from one of his few trips to Tokyo, he did not find anything to replace it with. The store pretty much just sold worse versions of the stuff at Houshou's bar, which meant sake and a few generic brands of beer. Drake liked sake, but he was tired of drinking it at this point.

 _Maybe I should get something that Bismarck would like. She has been working hard, after all._

He perused the aisles but didn't really know what Bismarck would want. He assumed she would prefer some sort of German beer, but they didn't sell any here. _Whatever. I guess Heineken will have to do._

"It's a shame they do not sell any good Italian wine here, wouldn't you say, Rear Admiral?"

 _That voice…_ "Admiral Veronese? What are you still doing here?"

Paola Veronese smiled. "It is simply just that our ship, the battleship _Legio_ , was undergoing repairs and has not left yet. But I have been busy and have not been able to come ashore until today, so I am glad to see you are still alive. _Che buona fortuna_ , the both of us, no?"

"If you can call it that."

"Hah. I see you are still as sullen as ever, Richard Drake. I suppose the infernos themselves would have to burn out before we would see a smile grace that serious face of yours."

"Maybe I'll smile for you once all the Abyssals are shattered wrecks on the seafloor," Drake said.

Veronese chuckled. "Then I will look forward to it."

"Are any of the Italian ship girls still around?" Drake then asked out of curiosity.

"Oh, yes. Littorio and Roma have been allowed to wander the base for today before we head back to Italy," Veronese answered. "I do not know exactly where they went, but there is not much to do here, so it should not be too hard to find them if you wanted. If only you had prepared a grand feast or something for us like a proper host would have, eh, rear admiral?"

"Sorry, I've had things more important than a welcoming party on my mind lately," Drake frowned.

"It was a joke, my friend. A bit of levity in these dark times, no?" Veronese's dark eyes twinkled in amusement. "Either way, you should visit Italy someday. We Italians can't resist a good celebration even when inappropriate, so you would be sure to find a nice welcome there regardless."

"I've always wanted to go to Italy, so sure," Drake replied. "But for now, I go where the Navy sends me, I guess."

"Yes. And by God's grace, they will send us to destroy the Abyssals and exact our revenge," Veronese nodded firmly, her eyes ablaze. "Well, then. I should let you get back to your shopping. If I don't see you again before I leave, then good luck, Admiral Drake. _Arrivederci_."

The two saluted each other before Paola Veronese left. Drake made his purchase and headed back to the Administrative Building, hoping that Bismarck was done by now. When he went up to his office, he heard voices talking from inside, and he wondered if he had another visitor. He tried to open the door, but the door smacked into something, eliciting a yelp of mild surprise from someone inside.

He entered and saw a girl with light brown hair tied in a ponytail looking at him.

"Ah! _Scusami, Signore!_ " the girl bowed.

"It's fine. You're Littorio, right?" Drake recalled.

" _Si!_ I am a battleship of the Regia Marina, sir!" she stated hurriedly.

"I see. So that must be Roma, then," Drake gestured towards the other girl with short, brown hair, who was busy arguing with Bismarck at the desk.

Littorio sighed. "Yes. I apologize for my sister. I saw Bismarck sitting in here and I thought to pay her a visit as a courtesy, but then she and Roma just started arguing…"

"Yeah, Bismarck seems to make friends with just about anybody," Drake said with a sigh of his own as he put the beer down on a nearby shelf.

As he walked over to the desk, Bismarck finally noticed him and stopped yelling at Roma. The Italian looked confused as to why Bismarck suddenly halted their lively argument, so she turned around.

"Oh, don't mind me. Please finish your pleasant conversation," Drake said.

"I-It's not what it looks like! This cretin just came in here and started making a fuss!" Bismarck quickly tried to say.

"Huh!? What nonsense! This German fool was the one who began throwing out insults first!"

"Because you were taunting me! Italian _inkompetent_!"

Drake shook his head at the absurdity of it. Deciding that it was pointless to try and find out who was actually at fault here (in all likelihood both of them were), he just ignored the argument. He turned to Roma.

"I don't believe we've met, Miss. I am Rear Admiral Richard Drake from the US Liberation Navy," he introduced.

The Italian tried to compose herself as she pushed up her glasses. "I am Roma, a battleship in Italy's Regia Marina. The pleasure is mine, sir."

"Ah, so you're Roma," Drake nodded. "I saw Admiral Veronese just a few minutes ago, actually. I remember she said something about 'hoping that Roma wouldn't cause her any trouble this time.'"

"She said that?" Roma looked shocked. "But I - never mind. I must go. Good day, sir."

Roma shot one last glare at Bismarck before departing with her sister.

"Good job getting that pig out of here, Admiral," Bismarck nodded in appreciation.

Drake gave her a look of disapproval. "How about you just don't get into a fight next time? Is that possible for you? Well, whatever. Did you finish the documents?"

"Yes, sir! Here they are." She held out her hand proudly and gestured to the completed stack of paperwork. "It's all right. You can praise me more."

"Why would I praise you for redoing the files that you destroyed in the first place?" Drake said. "But anyway, I got some beer if you want it. It's pretty much all they had, so it's the best we're going to get."

Drake picked up the pack of beer bottles and put it down on the table. Bismarck's eyes lit up.

"Oh? This is Dutch beer, but it will do, I suppose," Bismarck smiled. "Let's crack them open, sir! How do the kids in your country say it nowadays…? Let's smash!"

"You mean 'let's get smashed,'" Drake blushed a bit. "Old people really shouldn't be trying to use sayings like that…"

"Hey! I told you not to call me old!"

The two spent the next couple hours drinking and chatting in the office. One of the things Drake had wanted to ask Bismarck about was how Germany was like back in World War II. He had read plenty of books on Nazi Germany, but hearing how things were from an actual person who lived through it was different. Unfortunately, since Bismarck's life during WWII was so short and because she mostly lived out at sea, she could not tell him anything that he didn't already know from his reading.

He then asked her about modern-day Germany. He had never been there before, but like all of Europe, he was interested in going someday. Bismarck didn't seem to know much about that either since she mostly spent her ship girl life in London or Japan so far, but she too said that she wanted to go there. From that conversation, he came to understand that Bismarck loved her country, and though she sometimes regurgitated Nazi talking points and still dressed like a Nazi, it was clear that her true allegiance was to Germany and its citizens rather than the Nazi Party.

"All right, I think that's enough drinks for one night," Drake eventually said.

"Eh? But I'm still sober," Bismarck complained. "Even after all that harsh paperwork…"

"It wouldn't be good if we wandered around the base like a pair of drunkards, would it?" Drake pointed out.

"But I see that pink-haired aircraft carrier doing it all the time."

"Well… You don't want to be like her," Drake replied. "Come on, let's go. We have to scan and send in these documents tomorrow anyway, and I don't want to do that with a hangover."

The two stepped out of the office and Drake locked the office up for the day. However, they were met with some unexpected visitors in the hallway.

" _Guten abend_ , friends," Vice Admiral Ehrhard greeted with a smirk. Behind him stood the taller Vice Admiral Bremerhaven.

Bismarck snapped to a salute, and Drake just gave them a nod.

"I see you're still around. Did you need something?" Drake asked, wondering what they were doing here.

"We do, and that 'something' is Bismarck," Ehrhard said, getting straight to the point. "It's about time she came back to Germany, no?"

"What?" Drake narrowed his eyes.

"You heard me, American," Ehrhard pushed. "Bismarck is our battleship. She has wasted enough time here in Japan. With our recent defeat to the Abyssals, all the countries are strengthening their naval defenses, and Germany is no different. Part of Japan has already fallen to the Abyssals, and Germany will not continue to let one of our greatest naval assets risk her life for a doomed country."

"Admiral Helmholtz has ordered Bismarck to return to Germany. None of us have any say in it," Bremerhaven added a bit more diplomatically.

That only made Drake even more frustrated, though. "Then tell Admiral Helmholtz that he can come here himself and try and take her if he dares."

Ehrhard frowned. "Oh? Is that how it's going to be?"

"Wait," Bismarck stepped in, "I was never told about any of this."

"It was finalized last night," Bremerhaven explained. "We leave tomorrow."

Drake scowled. _I already lost Kaga… I won't lose anybody else._

"No one from _my_ fleet is going anywhere," Drake stated. "If you have a problem with that, take it up with America."

"And that's just the problem with you Americans. Your arrogance is astounding," Ehrhard countered. "This order most likely comes down from the Kaiser himself. Whether you throw a tantrum or not, you cannot stop it."

"You know what? Go fuck yourself," Drake shot back.

"Eh? Fuck you!" Ehrhard yelled back. "Bismarck! Come! You are forbidden from being around this filth any longer!"

Ehrhard moved towards Bismarck, but Drake stepped in front of her and pushed the German admiral back. Anger flashed across Ehrhard's face, and without thinking, he threw a punch which hit Drake in the side of the jaw. Everyone froze in shock after that. Even Ehrhard, the one who threw the punch, looked surprised at himself. The calm did not last, though.

Red-hot rage coursed through Drake's mind, and without even bothering to go with the CQC he was trained to use, he launched a punch with all his strength. His fist smashed into Ehrhard's face, flooring the German admiral. For some reason, Drake felt a burst of pleasure. All the frustrations from the past week suddenly manifested in front of Drake. Though he knew that Ehrhard had nothing to do with the torture he had been feeling lately, it still felt so good to hit him. Before Ehrhard could even get up, Drake lunged at him and cocked his fist back for another punch. His mind was in a daze, and all he thought about was releasing his stress on the unfortunate target of his anger.

But before he could slam his fist into Ehrhard's face once more, someone grabbed his arm from behind, snapping Drake out of his trance. At first he thought it was Bismarck, but when he turned and looked, he caught a glimpse of a bearded face and an American flag ascott.

 _Holy fucking shit…_

A split-second later, Drake found himself sailing through the air. He slammed against the wall and unceremoniously slid down onto the hallway floor, his vision swimming.

The three Germans watched with amazement and surprise as the newcomer made quick work of Drake. Like the rear admiral, this man was also dressed in an American officer's uniform. He then turned his cold, stony gaze to the two German admirals, who went rigid.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing?" Bismarck yelled at the man and roughly grabbed him by the shoulder.

The man's expression didn't change. "Take your hands off me, soldier."

Bismarck grit her teeth angrily. "Shut up! I'll make you pay for -"

Before Bismarck even knew what was happening, she also found herself in the air. Her fall was broken by her two German admirals, in whose direction the man had tossed her. She awkwardly landed on top of them, causing all three of them to cry out in pain as they tumbled together.

"What a farce," the man muttered. He then walked over to Drake and lifted him up. "On your feet, Rear Admiral."

Hurriedly, Drake saluted. "Sir!"

The bearded man was Fleet Admiral Van Dyke, one of the heads of the US Liberation Navy. He was promoted upon the ascension of the Citizens' Council after the Great Churning, but nobody knew where he came from before that. It was rumored that he was part of a covert unit either in the CIA or one of its offshoots, but there was never any official documentation on that. Either way, it was no surprise that he was able to disable Drake so easily; Fleet Admiral Van Dyke was the developer of the CQC curriculum that all branches of the US military taught.

"Come with me," Van Dyke said to Drake before turning and walking down the hallway.

Drake shot a look at Bismarck and the German admirals, who were trying to recover from the sudden blows. He didn't want to leave Bismarck with them, but he had no choice. Van Dyke saw Drake punch an officer from another allied nation in the face, and so Van Dyke could easily discharge him from the navy right on the spot if he wanted to. Reluctantly, Drake followed Van Dyke, unsure of what was about to happen.

"That was quite the sloppy technique back there, Rear Admiral," Van Dyke said.

"My apologies, sir. I was acting in self-defense," Drake tried to explain.

"Right… Regardless, you realize that what you did was incredibly dumb."

"Yes, sir. I apologize."

They stepped out of the Administrative Building and began walking towards the docks.

"This is the first time we have met, Admiral Drake, isn't it?" Van Dyke then asked.

"I believe so, sir."

Van Dyke pulled out a cigarette and paused to light it. "... Anyway, this may be the first time we are meeting, but I have known about you for some time now. Your performance at Tangier was very impressive."

"Thank you, sir," Drake said, a bit taken aback at how Van Dyke randomly brought that up.

"Most people would not have made the decision you did," Van Dyke continued. "Oh, don't get me wrong - it's not morals I'm talking about here. In my line of work, I have seen all kinds of people, and in my opinion, the average person is no more than a few steps up from a feral beast… And it only takes a really desperate situation to turn them right back into what they actually are. So no, I am not talking about morals. I truly believe that most people would eventually sacrifice the lives of strangers if they were placed in a desperate enough situation. However, what most people lack is the ability to _think_ in desperate situations, and to think clearly."

Van Dyke paused again to let out a puff of smoke. "If the average person had been put in the situation you were in at Tangier, he would almost certainly die. The average person would either not figure out how to utilize the lives around him, or he would debate with himself whether it is the right thing to do before he actually gets around to doing it. But with you, you saw the opportunity to use the citizens of that city, and you took it. There was no hesitation."

Drake thought Van Dyke was praising him, but he certainly didn't feel good upon hearing those words. In fact, it just made him sick.

Van Dyke glanced at Drake, then smirked. "But you probably feel bad about the whole thing, huh? And I assume you're trying not to think about this, so sorry for bringing it up, but back at Okinawa, you essentially did the same thing. You sacrificed those destroyers so you and your ship girl fleet could escape. Am I right?"

"I… That's not true," Drake tried to deny as alarms went off in his head. If the Navy thought that he intentionally did something like that, then it could be very bad for him.

"Yes it is," Van Dyke stated. "But relax, Rear Admiral. I'm not here to get you in trouble. My point is that you understand the true nature of this conflict. If we're not willing to sacrifice a few humans, then the Abyssals are going to kill us all. The Abyssals are unlike any enemy that humanity has ever faced before, and they do not care about their own kind. All they care about is killing humans, and they will take as many losses as they need to in order to achieve that goal. How can we ever hope to defeat them if we can't do the same?"

Van Dyke stopped walking when they reached the docks. Drake stopped as well, and his eyes went wide as he saw the ship docked in the waters in the distance.

"That's the _Freedom's Sacrifice_. Brings back memories, doesn't it?" Van Dyke nodded to the battleship.

Drake's expression darkened. "All right. What is the point of this? What do you want from me, sir?"

Van Dyke fixed him with an icy stare. "I want you to kill Abyssals."

"Kill Abyssals?"

"And what do you want?" Van Dyke pressed. "Don't you want to kill them too?"

"Yes, sir," Drake said firmly.

"But can you? That is the question," Van Dyke then countered, almost as if he had set Drake up. "You failed at Okinawa. Your secretary ship was sunk. You lost our fleet's airpower, and tens of thousands died. What makes you think that you can defeat the Abyssals after that?"

Drake opened his mouth to form a rebuttal, but he found that he couldn't think of anything.

"I'm waiting, Rear Admiral."

Clenching his fists in frustration, Drake searched for a reason. "I… I don't know. But… I want to kill them…! That much I know!"

Van Dyke took one last drag of his cigarette. "Fine, then. I won't report what I saw today, and we can both forget about what happened back in that building. However, you are being reassigned, Rear Admiral."

"Reassigned?" Drake repeated dumbly. "B-But I'm the admiral here! I have more experience with ship girls than anyone else in our navy! You can't just reassign me!"

"Calm down. Nobody said it would be permanent."

"Then for how long am I to be 'reassigned?'"

"That's still pending," Van Dyke answered.

Drake frowned. "So it _is_ permanent."

"No, it isn't," Van Dyke shook his head. "Listen to me, Rear Admiral. You are being reassigned whether you like it or not, and if you don't, then you can consider your career in the navy over. It's up to you whether you get to come back to this base or not… Be at _Freedom's Sacrifice_ at seven p.m. tomorrow. Pack your essentials and say your goodbyes."

Drake wanted to argue, but he knew it would be futile. All he could do was watch Van Dyke walk away.


	42. Fair Seas and Farewell III

"Ah… It's a simple thing, isn't it?"

"Yeah. It's all I could get, but I think it fits."

"I agree."

Akagi and Drake stood atop the grassy cliff that overlooked the sea. In front of them and placed just before the edge of the precipice was a small, white obelisk. It did not have anything engraved on it, but everyone knew the meaning of it regardless. Behind Drake and Akagi was the rest of Drake's fleet, and everyone was now out of the hospital. Shigure was still in her catatonic state, but she was in attendance regardless, supported by her two sisters.

The sun was setting on that summer day, and the sea in the distance appeared as a shimmering obsidian against the backdrop of the red and orange sky. Drake turned to face the fleet.

"All right, everyone. Thank you for coming," he started a bit unsurely. "Our fleet hasn't really met together like this since before the operation, and much has changed since then. We lost a lot of good soldiers during the last fight, and some of you may think that it's your fault or that it's my fault or whatever, but that's not why we're here today. Regardless of how you feel about the battle, people still gave their lives for our cause, and it's important that we remember them."

He paused briefly. "In particular, our fleet lost its flagship, Kaga… As you all saw before the operation, I'm not good at giving speeches, so I won't bother with that today. All I'll say is that Kaga was an important part of our fleet, and that she was important to me personally as well. I'm not one for grand ceremonies and Kaga wasn't either, so we're just going to keep this brief. All I ask for is a moment of silence."

Drake then turned back to the obelisk. The vast ocean stretched out behind it, and a cool breeze sailed through the air. _She's somewhere under those waves, huh? If I go out on those waters again, will I feel her with me?_

His throat tightened as he continued to stare out at the sea. He turned his eyes back to the obelisk, and he saluted it.

After a few moments, Drake went up to the obelisk and pulled something out of his pocket. He tied the blue ribbon Houshou had given him around the obelisk, then let out a small breath and turned back to the fleet.

"Okay. That's really all I wanted to say. Thanks, everyone."

He started to walk away, but before he could go, Shoukaku grabbed him by the arm.

"Admiral… Are you really leaving?"

Drake's gaze fell. Earlier when he had sent out the message to meet at this spot at this time, he had also told the fleet that he was being reassigned. He didn't want to do it in person because he wanted this moment to be about Kaga's memory, but he supposed there was no way to avoid it after all.

"... Yeah. I don't have a choice. I can't disobey my orders."

"But… Why?" Murasame asked with a sad frown.

Yamakaze then shoved Shigure onto Murasame and rushed at Drake, clinging onto his leg. "No! You can't leave!"

"I'm sorry. There's nothing I can do," he apologized as he softly patted her green hair.

"But it doesn't make sense!" Zuikaku protested. "Who's gonna replace you? Who else knows how to command ship girls aside from the admirals on this base? We can't lose both our secretary ship and our admiral! It's not fair!"

"The world isn't exactly a fair place," Shiranui replied coolly. "What do you expect him to do? Tell his superiors that they can go and shove it?"

"I'll mess 'em up for you if you want, sir," Suzuya offered, cracking her knuckles.

"Yeah, that would _definitely_ solve the problem," Drake said sarcastically, smiling a bit in spite of the situation. "I'm sorry, but those are my orders. I wish they weren't, but what can I do?"

Bismarck stepped forward. She was not wearing her usual outfit and instead wore a German officer's uniform, probably because she was supposed to go back to Germany today. With an angry look on her face, she roughly grabbed Drake by his shirt.

"Why don't you just tell them you don't want to go?" she demanded to know. "You don't have the guts for it, do you?"

Scowling, Drake grabbed her hand and forced it off him. "It's not a question of guts, you -"

His words died in his throat when he noticed that Bismarck's hand was trembling in his own. He could see tears of frustration begin to well up in her eyes, but she quickly jerked her hand free and stomped off.

"Hey! Where are you going!" Drake called after her. "I didn't hear you saying shit to your admirals when they told you to go back to Germany!"

 _What does she want from me? Why is she so hard to understand?_ Drake thought.

"I'm sorry, sir. I am sure she is just frustrated," Haruna told him. "We all are… I did not expect that you would be leaving like this…"

Drake sighed in defeat. "I know… I didn't want to leave like this either. But I'll be back. It doesn't have to be permanent."

"Really? You'll come back?" Yamakaze asked.

"Yeah. I just don't know when…"

"Well, if you don't come back, maybe we'll just go over to America and drag you back ourselves," Zuikaku grinned.

"Pearl Harbor Part II, huh?" Drake smirked. "Don't worry. I put a lot of time and effort into this fleet, and I won't let it go to waste. I'll be back. I promise."

"Then we'll hold you to that, sir," Shoukaku said as she saluted.

The rest of the fleet saluted him as well, and Drake returned it. _I'll miss this place…_

He said his final goodbyes to the fleet and then began walking towards the docks. Some IJN sailors had already been conscripted to handle Drake's luggage, so he could just head over now. He didn't come to Japan with much in terms of personal effects, and so his packing was fairly light.

He got to the docks and saw the familiar battleship that would take him back to his new assignment in America. He didn't know exactly where he was going yet, but the ship would dock in San Diego first. Since Van Dyke had given him a week's leave in between assignments, Drake would then disembark and fly over to the East Coast and visit his family for the first time in a while. After that, he would head to JFK International Airport in New York City where someone from the navy would meet up with him and head to the new deployment area.

 _I wonder if the fleet will be all right when I'm gone._ What if they were sent out to sortie in his absence? Would they be split up? Would they get a new commander? What if their new commander was incompetent? What if some of them sunk?

Or what if they got a new, better commander, one who wouldn't make the kind of mistakes Drake made back at Okinawa?

He quickly chased those thoughts from his head; it would do him no good to torture himself like that. All he could do now was focus on his next assignment and impress Admiral Van Dyke enough so that he could come back to Japan one day.

* * *

Drake stood at the foot of a long, winding driveway that led up to a fairly large house at the top of a hill. The sleek black military car that dropped him off drove away a few seconds later, leaving Drake alone with his luggage. Sighing at the prospect of making the long trek up the driveway, Drake nevertheless grabbed his suitcase and slowly began hiking up. He was back in civilian wear, which consisted of khaki pants and a black long-sleeve shirt. It was fairly hot out, so he was regretting his choice of clothing now, especially since he had to climb all the way up the driveway.

When he finally made it to the top, he took a moment to catch his breath before knocking on the front door. Seconds later, a portly man with a strawberry-blond beard and hair opened the door. He was shorter than Drake by a couple inches, and his blue eyes lit up when he saw him.

"Well, well! Look who it is!" the man cheerily greeted, patting Drake on the back. "You're early, eh? You should've told me, I could have picked you up from the airport."

"The navy already set up a car for me, so no need," Drake said as he stepped inside the spacious foyer and took off his boots.

A woman with black hair and brown eyes then walked in, smiling when she saw Drake.

"Oh, Richard! You're early," she said in a slightly-accented tone, echoing her husband's sentiments.

"I guess I am," Drake nodded to her.

"You look tired. Are you hungry?" his mother asked, patting his hair.

"No, I'm fine," he replied, ducking out of her reach. He was well into his twenties by now, but his parents always treated him like a child regardless.

Another man then stepped into the foyer. He was about the same height as Drake, and he had brown hair and blue eyes.

"Hey! There he is!" the man called out loudly when he saw Drake. He had a much more pronounced British accent than Drake's father. "Didn't expect to see Uncle John here, did you!"

"I did not, no," Drake replied, staggering a bit as his uncle clasped him by the shoulders.

"I came back from England just to see my heroic nephew! Great, right?" he excitedly nodded.

"He's been here for three days now and has been making a ruckus ever since," Drake's father rolled his eyes.

"Stuff it, Brady. What's wrong with some enthusiasm?"

"It's annoying, that's what's wrong with it."

"That's rich. The guy who stays up til midnight watching soap operas and blaring the volume for the whole house to hear shouldn't be calling others that."

"Soap opera?! It was a sporting match!"

Drake's mother ushered Drake away as the two continued to argue. "Why don't you go put your suitcase in your room? I'll make you something for lunch afterwards."

Drake just nodded and headed upstairs. He opened the door to his room and found it pretty much the same as he had left it. It was fairly barebones, with nothing inside but a bed, some drawers, a wall-mounted television and an Xbox. There was also a bookshelf, mostly lined with textbooks or history books about military campaigns or the like. Drake slid his suitcase into the corner of the room, not really feeling like unpacking just now. Instead, he went back downstairs, where his dad and uncle were still embroiled in their pointless argument.

 _Guess that hasn't changed either._

Uncle John was not related to Drake by blood, and he was the husband of his father's sister. Both John and his wife lived in England and were often away for business, but John occasionally liked to come over to America to visit Drake's family as well as his own daughters, who actually went to a prestigious private high school nearby. They went to school in America because their parents were away for business so frequently that it was decided that it would be better if they were at least nearby other family members, especially since Drake's parents rarely ever went anywhere.

As Drake sat silently at the island countertop in the kitchen, he couldn't help but feel uneasy. It was nice to be back home after being abroad for so long, but the circumstances were not what he hoped they would be. He was coming back with the weight of death and defeat on his back, and to make things worse, he had left his fleet alone back in Japan.

 _Was it really all right to leave them like that?_ He asked himself, though he knew that realistically, he didn't have a choice if he ever wanted to see them again.

He also thought of Bismarck. _We left on such bad terms… Why does this sort of thing always happen with her? I wonder if I'll ever see her again…_

His mother placed an omelette on a plate in front of him, snapping him out of his thoughts.

"You should eat, Richard. You look like you've lost so much weight!"

 _I thought I told her I wasn't hungry_ , he sighed to himself. Nevertheless, he picked up the knife and fork and endeavored to finish the food anyway.

As he chewed the omelette, the familiar taste he associated with home filled his mouth. Sometimes it felt so far away. He recalled the battle at Okinawa and his close combat with the Ne-class, and how he had almost died and would have never been able to taste his mother's cooking again.

 _Well, I guess I am glad I'm still alive, even if it's just for moments like these… But what about those who died during the battle? The men on those destroyers? They'll never be able to go home again._

He forced himself to think of something else. As he finished the omelette, he looked out the window and towards the green grass and trees that surrounded the house. The house was in the suburbs and was in an out-of-the-way area, so it was fairly quiet and isolated most of the time. Having to go up that long driveway just to reach the front door could be annoying at times, but given the privacy they had, he supposed the tradeoff was a good one after all.

Drake then walked to the living room, where his father and his uncle were now animatedly chatting about something else, their previous argument apparently forgotten.

"So, Rich! What's the plan for today?" his uncle asked excitedly.

Drake shrugged. "I don't know. I was just going to sit in my room and watch TV or something."

His father and uncle gave him flat looks.

" _That's_ what you're going to do after coming back to civilization?" his father asked with disbelief.

"I wasn't away from civilization…"

"Oh, that's right! Did you bring us any souvenirs from Japan?" his uncle asked.

"Uh… No."

"Bloody hell. What kind of a nephew are you!" Uncle John grinned, slapping Drake on the back. "Anyway, if you don't have anything to do, why don't you go over and pick the girls up from school? I'm sure they'd be happy to see you."

"I haven't seen them in a while, though," Drake said.

"So? It's not as if they've forgotten who you are," his uncle scoffed. "Here. Take my car."

Drake caught the keys that his uncle tossed at him. _Guess I don't have a choice now._

"I told them I would be there at around three, so better get going," his uncle slapped Drake on the back once more.

 _God damn it…_ Drake sighed as he left the house and unlocked his uncle's car. He used to be pretty close to his cousins when they were younger, but ever since he left for college and then joined the navy, he hadn't been home as often as he used to be, and now they had mostly grown up. He supposed it was the same with Lira, but he actually saw her more often now that they were both in the navy.

As he drove towards the school, he marveled at how quiet and peaceful the roads were. His recent experience with cities had been Tokyo, Los Angeles, and London, so coming back to a small, almost-rural town like this one was a welcome change for now. The roads did get a bit busier when he got closer to the academy, but it was still manageable. He pulled in beside the school and parked the car away from the school buses and other students, lazily resting his arm on the windowsill as he waited for his cousins to arrive.

He watched the students walk by, all of them dressed in the same, prim uniform with a tan blazer and dark blue slacks or skirts. They laughed and chatted with each other as they strolled through the campus, carefree looks on their faces. Drake felt that if he stayed here for too long, he could almost forget that there was even a war going on.

 _Nah, like that would ever happen,_ he thought bitterly. No amount of innocence or ignorance would change the fact that people died and were dying because of the Abyssals, something that Drake had tried and failed to stop. While he was sitting in in a pretty private school campus, civilians in Okinawa were being killed by Abyssals, and those who had fallen in battle were festering away at the bottom of the ocean.

 _What the fuck am I doing here?_ Drake grew frustrated. _How can I get revenge this way? How can I atone this way? I'm such a waste…_

He forced himself out of his dark thoughts when he saw two familiar faces in the crowd. Two blonde girls of about the same height approached the car. They had sparkling blue eyes like Drake's father and Lira, and they shared their fair skin as well. The two of them looked incredibly similar to each other, and even Drake, who knew them for years, mainly told them apart because one of them wore her hair in a ponytail while the other wore it down.

Drake started up the car again as he waited for the two to get in. When they got closer to the car, they paused and squinted upon seeing someone unfamiliar inside.

"Forget me already?" Drake asked, rolling down the window.

The one with the ponytail, Eli, blinked with surprise. "Oh, it's Rich? You're back already?"

"Ahoy, sailor!" the other, Alisa, greeted with a salute. Like her sister and unlike Drake, she had a refined British accent.

"Yeah, whatever. Just get in," Drake said, shaking his head.

"I didn't know you would be back today," Eli said as Drake drove away from the academy. "Dad said it would be another few days at least…"

"I didn't really know when I was going to be back either, so I just told him my best guess, which turned out to be wrong," Drake admitted.

"So, have you got any good war stories?" Alisa asked excitedly as she leapt out of the backseat.

"No, but I have plenty of good stories about annoying little girls who died in car accidents because they didn't wear their seatbelts," Drake chided her as pulled on her cheek.

"O-Ow!" Alisa cried out as she went back to her seat and put her belt back on. "And I'm not a 'little girl.' We're starting senior year now!"

"Wow, impressive," Drake droned sarcastically.

"Did you see Lira?" Eli wondered.

"Yeah, I did. I also saw her father, unfortunately."

"Uncle Reginald? Dad was ranting about him again a couple days ago," Alisa added.

"Not surprising," Drake muttered. Reginald Snowbrook sure knew how to piss people off.

They arrived at the house shortly afterwards, and as Drake drove up the long driveway, Alisa asked him again about the war.

"Hey, is it true what they're saying about the battle in the Pacific?" she questioned. "The news said the international fleet was defeated. There's got to be another side to the story, right?"

"I don't know what to say. It's pretty much the truth," he answered honestly.

"You mean you actually lost?!" Alisa cried out in disbelief. "Come on, Rich!"

"Hey, don't blame him," Eli said to her sister. "He's got to have people above him who are in charge and do most of the planning. I doubt he was the reason they lost the battle, right, Rich?"

"Yeah…"

Drake followed behind his cousins as they went into the house. His uncle greeted the two girls when they entered, and they began talking about something as Drake's dad joined in. Though Drake was watching, he wasn't listening. His thoughts kept drifting away to the Tokyo Bay Base, and he was beginning to wonder if he had made a mistake by not putting enough resistance when Fleet Admiral Van Dyke reassigned him.

He was glad to see his cousins again, and he did feel at home here, but every time that warm feeling fluttered inside his chest, the dark memories resurfaced, as if to remind him that he didn't deserve this. He had broken so much and fixed nothing, and yet here he was, away from the battle and away from danger. His ship girls would continue fighting and dying without him, and he would be left behind, a bystander in the war he had devoted so much of his psyche to.

* * *

"... I'm bored," Amatsukaze said lethargically. She was lying on a bench at the Tokyo Bay Naval Base, one of her legs dangling off as she stared up at the sky.

Fubuki was standing nearby, sipping from a ramune. "We could go training again?"

"Fuck training," Amatsukaze replied.

"What a hard worker," Shiranui sarcastically noted from where she sat on the next bench over.

Asashio, who was sitting next to Shiranui, stood up. "Amatsukaze, you mustn't say things like that! What would the Admiral say if he came back and saw the state of our fleet?"

"Are you stupid? He's not coming back," Amatsukaze glared at her.

"Yes he is! He promised, remember?" Asashio shot back with a glare of her own.

"Um, maybe we shouldn't fight about this," Fubuki feebly cut in. "It's only been a week since he left, after all…"

"Yeah, and our fleet hasn't done shit since then," the silver-haired destroyer said, sitting up. "We've received no new orders, and our command structure is nonexistent. Shoukaku told us that we should be practicing on our own, but that's the extent of the guidance we've received."

"You shouldn't need to be told anything more. You're a ship girl, aren't you?" Asashio pushed.

"Sure doesn't feel like it," Amatsukaze grumbled. "What good are we if we just get our asses handed to us in the first big battle? We literally lost a piece of our country to the Abyssals. How can we call ourselves warships of the Imperial Japanese Navy and still take ourselves seriously?"

"You sure are optimistic today," Shiranui observed.

"And you're as dour as usual," Amatsukaze parried.

Shiranui shrugged. "Well, I can't disagree with you, I guess. The Admiral isn't coming back, and as we are now, we can never defeat the Abyssals if they get serious again. It's a hopeless situation."

"T-That's not true," Fubuki tried to deny. "If we train harder -"

"Then what?" Shiranui cut her off. "You know as well as I do that no amount of training is going to put us on the level of a Princess. We'll be slaughtered in our next engagement, so why waste time training?"

Fubuki's look turned to one of anger, but surprisingly, it was Amatsukaze who stood up and broke up the argument.

"All right, that's enough for today, don't you think? No more of that talk."

Fubuki and Shiranui quieted down, and the group fell into silence once more.

"Maybe we should pay Shigure a visit in the hospital," Asashio suggested. "Anything is better than just sitting here, right?"

"Sure, I guess," Amatsukaze half-heartedly agreed.

The group of destroyers began walking towards the base's hospital, where Shigure was still being held in her catatonic state. When they went up to the room where their injured comrade was, they found Yamakaze and Murasame there, as they often were.

"Oh, hey, girls," Murasame greeted with a smile.

"Good morning. We came to visit," Asashio saluted.

Murasame sighed as she looked at Shigure. "Unfortunately, she's still the same as usual."

Shiranui peered over at the lifeless-looking destroyer. "So, have they said what they're going to do with her?"

"W-What are they going to do to her?" Yamakaze asked, frightened.

"I don't know. I'm the one who asked you," Shiranui replied.

"We haven't heard anything," Murasame shook her head. "I hope they don't scrap her or anything…"

"That would never happen! The Admiral wouldn't let it!" Yamakaze cried out, not wanting to accept the idea of her sister being dismantled.

"Ugh, the Admiral is gone. It's better to just forget about him," Amatsukaze said.

"No! I won't…" Yamakaze refused, though her voice trailed off at the end and her green eyes were not very optimistic.

"But he'll be back, right?" Murasame asked worriedly.

"Who knows. But you know how things are in war, Murasame. Would you expect an officer who failed to defeat the enemy in such a fashion to ever come back to the frontlines?" Shiranui posed the question.

"Yeah, but… This war isn't like World War II," Murasame said. "There's not many people who know how to use ship girls, and Admiral Drake still had his victories too. His command sunk three Princesses."

"Maybe you're right. All I'm saying is that you shouldn't count on his intervention," Shiranui concluded.

The room fell into an uncomfortable silence after that. No one wanted to talk about the past battles, but no one wanted to talk about the uncertain future either. Though nobody wanted it to happen, they could all feel the solidarity of their fleet slowly beginning to crumble as each day went by. They had lost both their admiral and their secretary ship, and the remaining members didn't know how to fill those holes.

Suddenly, the doors to the hospital room were flung open, and a couple naval officers along with a flurry of engineers stormed inside. They quickly strode over to the stunned destroyers.

"Greetings. That is the destroyer Shigure, is it not?" one of the officers asked.

Murasame and Yamakaze shared a look.

"Who are you?" the twintailed destroyer asked.

"Excuse me? Why are you talking back to an officer?" the man demanded to know.

One of the engineers looked at the tablet he held in his hand and then nodded. "Yes, that's Shigure. Shall we proceed?"

The officer nodded. "Yes. Go ahead."

Two of the engineers moved to pick up Shigure, but Murasame and Yamakaze stepped in front of them. The other destroyers also tensed up, ready to act.

"What do you think you're doing?" the officer glared at the destroyers. "Move aside or I will order you all scrapped!"

"No! You can't take her!" Yamakaze cried out, shoving away an engineer who came too close and pushing him onto the ground.

"Hey, no one ever said anything about fighting a bunch of warships," one of the engineers complained.

The officer was fuming. "You little -"

"Hold on," the second naval officer interrupted. He was a bit younger, and he also wore a timid look on his face. He didn't seem to want to get into a scuffle with the ship girls either, even if they were just destroyers. "Why are you girls getting angry?"

"You're out of your mind if you think you can just come in here and take Shigure away for scrapping," Murasame told him firmly. "You're not our admiral. You don't have that kind of authorization!"

"Sir! Shigure didn't do anything wrong!" Fubuki added to the officers.

"We're not here to dispose of her, you idiots," the first officer said with disdain. "Naval Command has told us to come to this base and take a select few ship girls back to Tokyo to undergo a remodel procedure. Shigure's name is on that list. Learn the facts before you lash out like children."

"A remodel?" Shiranui repeated curiously. "What sort of remodel?"

"I don't have access to that information. All I was told is that I should bring her, unharmed, to the navy's facility in Tokyo," the officer said. "I assume we have no problems now?"

Murasame and Yamakaze reluctantly stepped aside, and the engineers picked Shigure up. The comatose destroyer had not reacted to any of the commotion, and her unblinking blue eyes continued to stare at nothing even as she was taken out of the room.

"D-Do you think they were telling the truth?" Yamakaze worriedly asked when the men left the room.

"I would assume so. If they weren't, I doubt they would have been let on the base in the first place," Shiranui answered.

"Also, us ship girls are pretty valuable, so I don't think they would just scrap Shigure without trying to fix her," Amatsukaze noted.

"Hm… But what is this remodel?" Murasame wondered. "I've never heard of any of us being remodeled before…"

"Is it a new procedure? Maybe it can help us defeat the Abyssals," Asashio said hopefully.

The intercom in the hospital blared to life.

" _All ship girls, please report to the main auditorium,"_ Nagato's voice sounded. " _I repeat, all ship girls, please report to the main auditorium as soon as possible."_

"What's this about?" Amatsukaze wore a look of confusion.

"Another sortie?" Yamakaze asked apprehensively.

"Let's go and find out," Shiranui stated, the edge in her voice showing that she was also worried about having to sortie again.

The destroyer group went over to the auditorium, which was located on the first floor of the Administrative Building, and saw that it was packed full of the other ship girls on the base. All the ship girls were talking among themselves, and it seemed that they shared the same concern that the destroyers did. As the destroyers tried to find a row of empty seats, Sendai bounded over to them, a cheery look on her face.

"Isn't it too early in the morning for you to be acting like this?" Amatsukaze frowned.

"Heh. Take a look at this," Sendai said proudly, flashing a ticket of some sort in Amatsukaze's face.

"'Remodel Candidate,'" Amatsukaze read off the ticket. "Wait, you're getting remodeled too?"

Sendai nodded enthusiastically. "Yep. I got it this morning."

"So you're going with Shigure," Murasame added.

"Shigure's got one too?" Sendai scratched her head. "So none of you has one?"

"They probably haven't finished handing them out yet," Jintsuu, Sendai's sister, said from behind her.

Sendai was about to reply, but the room fell silent after Nagato walked up the podium on stage and cleared her throat. Fleet Admiral Miiro and Rear Admiral Genji were also at the front of the room.

"... Thank you all for coming," she started in her usual professional tone. "As some of you may have heard, naval command has begun a program where they select some ship girls to undergo a remodel procedure."

The room erupted into chatter once more, and it was evident that many of the ship girls present had heard about this recently.

"Quiet!" Nagato ordered, silencing the room once again. "Anyway, they are still distributing the remodel orders, so it is possible that you may receive one if you haven't already. The remodels will take place at the Imperial Navy's facility in Tokyo, but that is the extent of our knowledge on it. The actual procedure is highly classified, and we do not know what the outcomes will be. Regardless, it is clear that the goal is to make us stronger for the next time that we face the Abyssals, so I will ask you to please cooperate with the officers sent from the capital. I myself have received a remodel order, so I will be going with some of you to Tokyo. If you have any questions, now is the time to ask."

Numerous hands shot up.

"All right… You can go first, Shiratsuyu."

"Yes!" the brown-haired destroyer cheered, then realized that everyone was staring at her. "Ahem… I was told that Yuudachi and Kawakaze would be taken in for their remodels even though they are nowhere near repaired yet. Are they really going to remodel them like that?"

"Yes. The remodel procedure will presumably heal them," Nagato nodded.

"Yuudachi and Kawakaze too?" Murasame whispered in surprise to Yamakaze.

Nagato called on the next questioner. "Go ahead, Kongou."

"How is it decided which ships get their remodel?"

"I don't know the answer to that, sorry."

The questioning then continued for about ten more minutes, but it quickly became evident that Nagato wasn't lying when she said that she didn't know much about the remodel procedure to being with. For now, it seemed like they would just have to wait and see who got their remodels, and what would happen afterwards.


	43. Winds of the Mountains I

Grassy hills and farmland provided a pleasant scenery to the train ride as Bismarck silently stared out the window. Instead of her usual uniform, she wore the standard gray coat issued to all officers of the Fourth Reich. It reminded her of the uniform that she used to see SS officers wearing, though there were no swastika pins or medals this time around.

As her blue eyes took in the German landscape, she sighed quietly to herself. _I have always wanted to see Germany like this… And yet, now that I'm actually doing it, it doesn't feel as good as I thought it would be._

" _We will be arriving at Lubeck in approximately fifteen minutes,"_ the train loudspeaker announced.

For the coming months, Bismarck would be posted in the town of Lubeck, Germany. When she had first returned from Japan, she had been looking forward to seeing Prinz and all her comrades, but she only got to spend a week with them before they were all ordered to different locations within the country. Apparently it had been decided that it was better to deploy the few ship girls that Germany had to different parts of the coast so that the Abyssals could be stopped no matter where they appeared. Of course, one ship girl by herself would have no chance of stopping an actual Abyssal attack, so it seemed that the Kriegsmarine was hoping that the Abyssals would only send out minor raiding parties instead of just using full force on their first attack.

Bismarck's two admirals, Vice Admirals Ehrhard and Bremerhaven, were currently in Berlin, so she had basically been assigned to Lubeck by herself… Well, that wasn't entirely true. An officer named Captain Handel had been sent along with Bismarck. Handel was about the same height as she was, and he had slightly curly hair and a well-maintained beard. Though he was part of the Kriegsmarine and had a German surname, his tan skin, black hair, and brown eyes made him seem closer to someone like Admiral Drake in appearance than Bismarck herself.

Regardless, he seemed to have a strong dislike for Bismarck, most likely due to her history as a Nazi battleship. This was no surprise to her, and she kind of expected that there would be those who really loved her and those who absolutely hated her in modern Germany. Unfortunately Captain Handel was part of the latter group, and though he was fast asleep right now, if he were awake he would probably just be ignoring Bismarck or glaring at her.

The train entered the city of Lubeck. Now Bismarck was a bit more interested, and she looked out the window with wonder at the town around her. Lubeck seemed like a rather old town, and many of the buildings were built in a Gothic style. Nevertheless, the town was alive with the sound of people, and for a place designated as the Abyssal defense station for northern Germany, it looked rather carefree.

Once at the station, the train came to a stop, and Captain Handel slowly awoke with a grumble. The civilians on the train grabbed their belongings and began heading out, and Bismarck also grabbed her own luggage. She didn't bring much with her, but there were still a few items that she needed.

She followed Captain Handel out of the train, and the officer shoved his hands in his coat pockets as he looked around. Summer was ending and fall was beginning, and up here in the northern part of the country, it could get rather chilly at times.

"Where's the damn military car…" Bismarck heard Handel mutter.

Shortly afterwards, a car did indeed arrive for them. The driver stepped out and saluted, and he opened the doors for Bismarck and Handel as he stowed their suitcases in the trunk.

According to her orders, Bismarck would not be stationed at the newly-renovated naval base and would instead live at _Reichspolizei_ headquarters in old town. The _Reichspolizei_ were a new organization created by the kaiser which functioned as a sort of military police combined with an intelligence agency. In Bismarck's opinion, the _Reichspolizei_ just seemed like a reskinned version of the Nazi SS, but she knew that it probably wouldn't be good to voice that out loud.

As the car drove through Lubeck, Bismarck again couldn't help but marvel at the streets and the buildings that they passed by. She had seen a cities before in London and briefly at Los Angeles, but it was different now that she was in Germany.

 _This is my homeland. This is what I have been fighting for,_ she thought to herself. _But still…_

Soon enough, they made it to the _Reichspolizei_ headquarters. The building was large and imposing and looked as if it were made of white stone. Red banners depicting the Iron Cross hung down and covered the front of the building.

Bismarck and Captain Handel went inside to the lobby, where they waited to be received. The lobby was quite spacious and was tiled with marble, and lavish chandeliers hung from the ceiling. Once again, red banners lined the walls, and on the front wall of the room was a huge banner with the Prussian eagle emblazoned on it.

A man dressed in an officer's uniform approached the pair. He looked to be in his forties and gray hair could be seen from underneath his hat, but his eyes were a crisp blue and his face held a sort of youthful enthusiasm.

"Hello," the older officer saluted. "You two must be Captain Handel and the battleship Bismarck. I am Obergruppenfuhrer Thomas Mann. A pleasure to meet you, and welcome to Lubeck."

Handel and Bismarck saluted back.

"Thank you, Captain Handel. I can take it from here," Mann said.

Handel nodded and eagerly made his exit, heading off somewhere else in the building with his suitcase.

"How was the trip? Not too bad, I hope?" Mann asked.

"It was very pleasant, sir," Bismarck answered.

"Good, good. Is this your first time stationed outside of a naval base?"

"Yes, sir."

"You came to the right city," Mann smiled. "Lubeck is very beautiful, and it has a rich and storied history as well. You won't be on duty all the time here, so you will have time to explore the city if you like."

"Then I will look forward to it," Bismarck replied. She had to admit, the prospect of being able to walk through the streets of Germany for the first time did excite her.

"Yes, you should! But first, unfortunately, we do have some paperwork to take care of, so if you will follow me, please."

Mann whistled, and another _Reichspolizei_ officer immediately came over and took Bismarck's luggage. Mann then began walking at a brisk pace, and Bismarck hurriedly followed.

"Did you know, Bismarck," Mann started, turning a bit as he walked and giving her a strange smile, "that right here in the Bay of Lubeck, a Royal Air Force Squadron sunk three of our ships during World War II? But what's more, those ships were not even carrying German troops, but concentration camp prisoners! The British killed around 7,000 of them. What fools, those pilots, hahaha!"

Bismarck did not know what to say to that, so she just offered an uncomfortable smile as Mann chuckled at the grim tale. _Perhaps this officer isn't as harmless as he looks after all…_

"This is my office," Mann announced as they arrived in a room with two heavy-looking oaken doors. The _Reichspolizei_ officers guarding either side of the room were strapped with submachine guns, and they dutifully opened the doors as Mann approached.

Bismarck had to admit that the inside of the office was very pretty. The floor was covered in a royal red rug, and another expensive chandelier hung from the ceiling, though currently there was enough light coming in from the large windows that overlooked the old town. A large German flag flanked the well-polished mahogany desk on one side, and on the other side was a banner marked with the Iron Cross. Mann sat down at the desk and gestured for Bismarck to sit on one of the chairs across from him.

 _Even the chairs here are nice,_ Bismarck thought as she sat down on the plush, velvety seat. _I suppose this department was given a large budget._

"Excuse me for a bit, I just have some paperwork to fill out," Mann said as he began writing some things down. "Aside from that, have you been told what you will be doing here?"

"Yes, sir. I am to guard the northern waters in case of an Abyssal attack," Bismarck stated.

Mann gave her that strange smile again. "Yes, of course. But up here in the northern part of Germany, up near Scandinavia - it seems like an out-of-the-way place for the Abyssals to go, does it not?"

"Er…"

"Well, no matter," Mann waved her off cheerily. "You do have it right; that is your role here, for the most part. However, if you want my personal opinion, the probability of an Abyssal attack up here is a slim. If they were going to attack anywhere, I would guess that they would strike at the western part of the country where the other ship girls are stationed, though even that has a very low chance of happening."

Bismarck was confused. "Then why was I assigned here, sir?"

"Like I said, the Abyssals are the nominal reason why you were assigned here," Mann simply said as he continued writing. "However, since you are here and the probability of an Abyssal attack is low, surely you wouldn't object to helping out with other matters of state, no?"

"Such as what?" Bismarck asked apprehensively.

Mann shook his head. "Nothing much. There are just a few things here and there that our organization could use assistance with, so if something comes up, I hope we can count on your help."

Bismarck still didn't know what he was talking about, but it's not as if it mattered anyway. She couldn't disobey orders. "Yes, sir."

"Good," Mann smiled brightly. "Then that is all for today. If you will give your name to the front desk, they will provide you to the key to your room in this building, where your suitcase has already been taken. Other than that, you are free to go where you please, just so long as you report back here at seven tomorrow morning. You are dismissed."

The battleship stood up and saluted. As she headed back down to the main lobby, she mulled over her new assignment. _It seems easy enough right now. I don't know what they're going to ask me to do, but if the probability of an Abyssal attack is low, then that is good, at least._

She received the key from the reception desk and then followed the signs to the housing wing. It sort of reminded her of the hotel that she stayed at with the fleet in Los Angeles, and the room itself was rather similar as well, though a bit smaller.

 _There's a nice view of the city from here,_ she smiled as she looked out the window, her blue eyes twinkling with wonder. _Obergruppenfuhrer Mann said I could go out into the city… Let's do it!_

Moving quickly with excitement, Bismarck left her room and the Reichspolizei headquarters and walked out onto the streets of Lubeck. The sun was already beginning to set here in northern Germany, but the streets were still bustling with people. Bismarck watched with fascination as the citizens went about their daily lives.

 _It's less busy than London,_ she observed. Another big difference from London was that instead of that annoying English accent everywhere, she could hear the harsh sweetness of the German language being spoken all around her.

 _Yes. I'm finally home,_ Bismarck realized, unable to keep the grin from her face.

However, a sudden and sharp pang of regret then struck her. Her smile slowly faded, and her shining, clear eyes betrayed a hint of sadness.

 _I wonder how everyone back in Japan is doing… Will I ever see them again?_ That was the fleet she had spent the most time with and shed the most blood with. There's no way that she could just forget about them so easily.

And on top of that, she felt something else missing. Ever since she had left the Tokyo Bay Base in Yokosuka, she felt a cold, empty space begin to tear open in her heart. This feeling of loss... It felt like she had been huddling in a dark cave with only a candle to warm her, and now that candle had been put out.

Of course, she knew what the cause of it was: Admiral Drake. All throughout her time in Japan, he had always been there with her as a fellow foreigner, and even if they sometimes fought, they always made up in the end. But this time, they had parted without ever reconciling. She was in Germany now, and he was back in America. They were back to their home countries, exactly where they should be. And yet, why did it feel so wrong?

Bismarck remembered how she had shouted at her admiral before she left for Germany. She clutched the iron cross that hung from her collar as she looked at the ground, her blonde lashes dusting over her sapphire eyes. _It shouldn't have ended like that…_

Even if she did one day get the chance to go back to Japan, it's unlikely that Admiral Drake would be there too. He was gone now, and in all likelihood, their parting at the base was the last time she would see him. They were both far from the place they had first met, and far from each other too.

 _If only I hadn't been so angry back then. If only I had thought about what was going to happen!_ Bismarck clenched her fists in frustration. A small part of her was disgusted at herself for getting so worked up about this, but she didn't care. She felt like she had failed an important test back in Japan, and now there was no way to make up for it.

 _And the Admiral… Will he be all right?_

She remembered how she had taken on the role of helping her admiral recover from the events of the Battle of Okinawa. She was no Kaga, but at the very least, she thought that she could provide some respite for her forlorn superior. But instead of doing that, she had gotten into an argument with him and then left him. Kaga had sacrificed her life so that Bismarck could live, and this was how she repaid her?

Her good mood had been ruined, and she hung her head in silence. Bismarck went back inside.

* * *

A long line of people marched onwards towards a sleek, futuristic-looking black building which had been built on the edge of the beach. They were chained together with black irons, and they moved slowly but steadily, their faces dejected and their eyes dim with defeat.

The Battleship Princess watched over the line, her expression neutral. There were numerous other Abyssals of lower classes marching along with the humans, though they served as jailers and often prodded at the humans who weren't moving quickly enough. In one instance, a Wo-class pulled a woman from the line and calmly beat the woman to death with her staff. The other humans tried to avert their gazes as they continued marching past the grisly scene, lest they be chosen for execution next.

 _They look broken,_ the Battleship Princess noted to herself. _If only they knew what would happen to them once they entered the Stomach. Perhaps we should begin broadcasting our torture methods to the prisoners just to inform them of their eventual fates? Would that produce a better outcome, or would surprising them once they actually get inside the facility be better?_

As she pondered this dilemma, Battleship Princess idly swept her crimson eyes over the rest of the Okinawan shore line. Periodically in the far-off distance another Stomach could be seen on the beach, and another line of humans would be trailing into it. The Stomach was a facility that the Abyssals used to 'purify' their resources. The Abyssals used fuel, ammo, steel, and bauxite like the ship girls did (which is why Battleship Princess also had groups of humans mining for them), but they needed them in lower quantities. Instead, the Abyssals amplified their resources through a 'purification' process. As the Battleship Princess had told the ship girls, the Abyssals ran on hate and negative energy, either sourcing it from within themselves or sucking it out from others, whether those others be ship girls or humans.

That is where the Stomachs come in. Within those buildings, the Abyssals would beat, torture, kill, and eat humans, all in an attempt to draw out the most negative feelings from those humans. Families would be purposely tortured and killed in front of each other, and no one, not even infants, would be spared. The intense anger, fear, and sadness that these actions produced would be the fuel for the Abyssals, and an Abyssal who had her negative energy replenished by watching or partaking in such acts could fight twice as hard as one who had not. That's why the Battleship Princess set up a rotation for all ships, making it mandatory for each of them to spend some time in a Stomach while they had access to the humans on Okinawa. It was a sort of morale system that would ensure each ship could fight at her best.

But truth be told, Battleship Princess did not like this system at all. She felt that it went against the entire purpose of the Abyssals, and that it should be stopped as soon as possible. The reason why she hated humanity in the first place was because of the horrors and suffering that humanity had produced throughout their entire history, and with the Stomach system, the Abyssals were just copying humans and therefore becoming what they hated the most. However, it was still necessary. Abyssals needed that negative energy, and since Abyssals were created from the darkness of war and war crimes in the first place, the Stomach system increased the chances of new ships manifesting that could be added to the Abyssal force. Even so, the Battleship Princess did not like it at all.

She had to admit that torturing humans and ship girls felt good, of course. The incredible rush from dominating and overcoming an enemy combatant; there was nothing else like it in the world. Her wounds from her fight with the battleship Yamato still throbbed painfully, but every time they did, it made the Battleship Princess smile. The look in Yamato's eyes when she knew she had lost was something that the Battleship Princess could never forget, and she thought about those eyes often. Killing and torturing humans, though not as interesting as her battle with Yamato, was also a source of pleasure for her.

But it was like a drug. There more you take, the more you lose sight of your ultimate goal. In the end, she wanted to make sure that all humans were exterminated and that no more suffering would ever occur. But the more you kill, the more you enjoy it, and then your purpose simply becomes an animalistic desire to inflict as much pain as possible. If that happens, you are no worse than the humans you decry.

Of course, not all the Abyssals took this to heart, and just like any drug, there are those who get addicted and enjoy the violence too much. These addicts would be needed in order to defeat the ship girls and humans for good, but there was no place for them in the future.

 _Well. It's not as if there is a place for any of us,_ Battleship Princess mused, looking up at the cloudy sky.

Once all the humans and ship girls were exterminated, the source of the Abyssals' hate would be gone. They would have no one to direct their anger and suffering at, and they would have no way to produce more negative feelings to keep on living. Shortly after the humans and ship girls disappear, the Abyssals would go extinct as well.

 _But we're fine with that,_ Battleship Princess decided. _If we can end the cycle of hatred forever, then we are willing to become devils. We are willing to be hated, cursed. We are willing to drown ourselves in blood for the good of the future._

Sometimes, Battleship Princess wished that she had never been born. She knew what her existence was, and she knew that she was a creature created out of pure hatred, and if that hatred had not existed in the first place, she would never have manifested in this world. And if she could have a world without hate, she would be perfectly content even if she couldn't be alive to enjoy it.

 _Yet here I am. I am alive._ Her red eyes burned. _And since I am alive, I will do everything in my power to make sure that no one like me ever walks this earth again._

* * *

Fleet Admiral Wei let out a deep sigh as he fixed his hat back on his head and stood up from the bench he had been resting on. With a lazy flick, he tossed his burger wrapper into a nearby trash can, then straightened out his military uniform as he began walking in the direction of his destination.

It was a warm, pleasant day in Washington D.C., not too hot and not too cold, which was surprising for summertime on the East Coast. The city was busy as always, and many office workers, political interns, and tourists rushed by on the streets. Wei, however, strolled about in his usual unhurried manner despite the fact that he was scheduled to speak in front of a congressional committee in a few minutes. After the devastating defeat at Okinawa, it was only natural that Congress take interest in the department of the military that was receiving the most funds and yet not achieving the best results. Therefore, they had scheduled a hearing in order to 'get to the bottom' of what happened that day.

Of course, Wei knew that nothing good or insightful would ever come out of a hearing like this, and the politicians were most likely just looking for someone to vent their anger at. Unfortunately that someone turned out to be him, a role he was forced into because the other fleet admirals dumped it off on the youngest one there.

 _Well, I guess someone's gotta do it,_ Wei sighed to himself again as he made his way up the long white steps of the Capitol Building.

When he entered and found the room he was supposed to be in, he was greeted with the sight of numerous men and women in formal attire waiting for him, their positions elevated so that they were looking down on him when he entered. The rest of the room was occupied by reporters from various news outlets, but Wei didn't really mind them.

"You took your time, Fleet Admiral," Congressman Pollock, a portly man with a bushy moustache, started.

"Sorry, I guess I got lost on the road of life," Wei apologized with a smile.

After the Great Churning, the US Congress, much like the executive branch, had been shuffled up, with all incumbents being forcibly removed from power. Though this would normally have caused quite the ruckus among the population, the people were mainly focused on the emerging Abyssal threat and so did not complain about their representatives being removed, especially since the new governing Citizens' Council immediately announced dates for new elections to fill the House and Senate seats. Those elections went surprisingly smoothly, though no party really stood out in terms of the number of seats gained. However, the one thing that all the new politicians had in common was that they were all in support of a strong stance against the Abyssals and promised to increase military spending to keep America safe. Because of this, there were some rumors that went around saying that the Citizens' Council meddled with the elections in order to put more warhawks in power. Many others (Wei included) thought that the warhawks won simply because the people were deathly afraid of the Abyssals, though… As they should be.

"No matter," Pollock continued, "let us begin. Are you prepared to give your report, Fleet Admiral?"

"Yes. I will start with a brief summary of the Battle of Okinawa, though I am sure you are familiar with the events," Wei began. "In short, strategic mistakes resulted in a heavy loss of covering airpower for the International Fleet at the beginning of the battle, forcing us to rely on our heavy weapons and ships. It quickly became clear that we had underestimated the enemy, and we took major losses as we retreated. As such, Okinawa fell into the hands of the Abyssals, and the remnants of the International Fleet returned to safer waters. But I know you have all read the reports, and so I assume you have more specific questions for me."

Congressman Rockwell, an African-American man from New York, nodded. "Straight to the point, I see. Then I'll just get right to it as well. Tell me, Fleet Admiral, how is it that 'strategic mistakes' are occurring despite all the money we are pouring into the navy?"

"Yes," Congresswoman O'Keeffe broke in, "How are we going to explain this to the people? We campaigned on the promise that we would defeat the Abyssals and save humanity, and yet here we are, having failed in our biggest battle yet. How did this happen?"

Wei resisted the urge to sigh again. _Great, this is exactly how I thought it would go. They're asking me big, general questions that I can't possibly answer without making myself look bad._

"First let me just say that the funding for the navy has helped tremendously, and that we would have been beaten even harder if we did not have that money," Wei replied. "As for the strategic mistakes… I am sorry, but I can't give you a firm answer. Our battles with the Abyssals have been few and far between, and we have definitely never seen something of this scale before. We're fighting a completely new enemy, and we have to account for a learning curve."

"'Learning curve'? Try telling that to the family members of those who died in the battle who keep calling my office all day!" Congressman Metcalf of Massachusetts rebutted.

"This is war. People will die," Wei refused to back down. "With all due respect, it is your job as a politician to convince the people that their sacrifices will be worth it in the end. Don't pin that on me."

Before Metcalf could retort, Pollock took back the reins. "That's all well and good, Fleet Admiral, but in order for us to convince the people, _you_ must convince _us_ first. Why should we keep spending so much money on the navy when you can't get us victories when it matters most?"

"Then let me ask you, what else would you be spending that money on?" Wei frowned. "Do you not realize that if the Abyssals win, we will all be killed? America will cease to exist. Whatever else you plan to spend those funds on will not exist. Nothing will exist. It all ends if we fail."

The room fell into silence for a good twenty seconds before Congresswoman Cassatt spoke up.

"You must understand that not everyone is so forward-thinking," she said. "Even if what you say is true, many people will refuse to accept it. All they care about is the present, and in the present, we are losing the war and losing money while we are at it. We must have something we can show the people to prove that we can win, or else we risk descending into chaos and lawlessness."

 _Tch. This is a pain,_ Wei lamented internally.

"Rest assured that a defeat like this won't happen again," Wei simply said. "This was our first major, all-out battle against the Abyssals and we have learned from it. We won't make the same mistakes twice, so you can go and tell your constituents that."

Wei's tone of finality signaled that he wouldn't budge on this issue, and the politicians looked uncomfortable and unsatisfied at the fleet admiral's answer. Regardless, they did not push the questions much further, and they instead switched to asking about more specific matters. Wei dutifully answered those as well, though some of the questions made him cringe at how little the congressmen actually knew about military tactics and operations.

About an hour later, the hearing ended, and Wei was finally allowed to leave.

 _As I thought, nothing important came out of that meeting,_ the fleet admiral mused as he exited the Capitol Building. _I guess it confirmed that the government wasn't happy with our last performance, though._

Wei took a seat on the same bench he had been sitting on before the hearing. Despite the futility of it, the hearing had tired him out, and he wanted to take a moment to rest. He stretched out his arms and yawned, enjoying the pleasantness of the afternoon. He would be returning to the West Coast soon, and he wondered if he could spend some time sightseeing in D.C. before he left the nation's capital.

As he closed his eyes and basked in the sunlight, he felt someone take seat next to him. He slowly opened one eye out of curiosity, but then quickly opened the other as his calm expression changed to one of bewilderment.

He stood up immediately and saluted the man. "Chairman Frost! Good afternoon, sir!"

The man chuckled. He was a middle-aged and dressed in a trim brown suit, and he had gray hair and pale blue eyes. He had a smile on his face, but somehow, it looked out of place.

"No need for all the formalities, citizen. I'm simply out here enjoying the weather just like you are."

"R-Right," Wei said, hurriedly sitting down again. Despite the chairman's words, Wei doubted that the head of the Citizens' Council would just take a seat beside him for no reason.

"I heard you had a congressional hearing today," Chairman Frost said after a moment of silence.

"Yes, sir. I just finished."

"And don't you look refreshed," Frost noted with his strange smile.

"Ah, well, I guess it just takes a lot out of you," Wei replied, slightly embarrassed now.

"Indeed. They must have asked you all sorts of infuriating questions," Frost nodded. "Sometimes people just fail to grasp what is truly important. Even our nation's leaders are fallible, and I believe some of those congressmen are more concerned with trivial matters than the state of the war itself. You have done well to bear with it."

"T-Thank you, sir."

"Hm… Tell me, Admiral Wei, do you know why I got into politics?" Frost then asked.

"No, sir."

To tell the truth, Wei didn't know much about Chairman Frost's life before he became the chairman of the Citizens' Council. Most of the Council members' backgrounds were relatively unknown.

"I suppose the details aren't important," Frost continued. "The main reason why I took this position was because this country needed to be rallied and strengthened for the coming conflict. The Abyssals are like no enemy America has ever faced before. The same can be said for every other country. New problems require new solutions, but it is hard to get people to change their old ways. While we are fighting and squabbling among ourselves, the enemy will eliminate us."

"I agree. Unfortunately, it's difficult to convince others of that," Wei admitted.

"Yes. That is why some things must simply be done. The convincing can come afterwards."

Chairman Frost stood up and smiled at Wei. "Fleet Admiral. What has started cannot be stopped now."

The chairman walked off, leaving Wei scratching his head in confusion.

 _What was that all about? Either way, he's not like the congressmen I talked to. He probably knows more than he lets on. Maybe he even knows more than I do…_

"Nah… Not possible, right?" Wei said to himself breezily, though his dark eyes remained fixed on the chairman's retreating back.

* * *

"Wow! Look at all the lights!" Iowa shouted, her cerulean eyes sparkling in wonder as she energetically bounced around Times Square.

Saratoga watched with worry as Iowa absently muscled past a few pedestrians with her battleship strength, causing them to give her dirty looks. "Would you please be more careful of your surroundings, Iowa?"

"Huh? Oh, sorry," she grinned sheepishly as she finally stopped rushing around. "But isn't this place amazing, Sara? Look at it!"

"Yes. America has definitely evolved since the war." Saratoga couldn't help but smile at her surroundings as well. "But surely this shouldn't be surprising to you? You were around in your ship form until just recently."

Iowa gave her comrade a flat look. "Yeah, but I was a _ship_. I've never been in the center of a city like this! Never!"

"That's true, I suppose," Saratoga admitted. "I hear Times Square is even better at night. Imagine how nice these signs would look in the dark…"

"Yeah, you're totally right!" Iowa realized with intense excitement. "Then we should come back here tonight!"

"We can't. Don't tell me you forgot that we have to receive Rear Admiral Drake at the airport this evening?" Saratoga reminded her.

"Well… He can wait for a few hours, right?"

Saratoga's disapproving expression was the answer to Iowa's question.

"Jeez, all right. We'll save that for next time," Iowa sighed in defeat. "I know! Since it's Captain Drake's fault that we're missing out, he can take us! Maybe treat us to a nice dinner while he's at it."

"He is your superior, not your boyfriend," Saratoga said in exasperation. "In all honesty, it might be better if we left for the airport now. We wouldn't want to keep him waiting."

"Eeeh? He's not going to show up for another three hours! Come on!" Iowa whined. "Hey, we should visit the _Intrepid_ next! Get a picture of me standing on top of her and then we can show it to Intrepid herself when we get back to base!"

"I… Don't think Intrepid would take well to that," Saratoga replied. "If we do have time to spare, how about we go to Central Park instead? I read a lot about how people consider it marvelous that such a wonderful sanctuary of nature is right in the center of a sprawling -"

"A park? Bo-ring!" Iowa interrupted. "Maybe Brooklyn would be nice to visit since I haven't been there in a while…"

 _She's always like this,_ Saratoga thought, resigning herself to her fate of being led around New York by the blonde battleship.

Iowa then began wandering off in a random direction, something else evidently having caught her eye. With no choice but to follow, Saratoga reluctantly went after her. Both ship girls were dressed in casual military wear, and they had on brown leather aviation jackets, form-fitting khaki pants, and black boots, the same sort of outfit they usually wore when outside of the base but still on official duty. Iowa's regular outfit would definitely attract too much attention if she wore it in public, so the navy just made them both were these uniforms instead.

As they walked through the streets of New York City, Saratoga continued to be amazed by how busy it was. This was also the first time she was walking around in a large city, so like Iowa, she too was captivated by it, though she could at least show some restraint.

 _There are signs, advertisements, and stores everywhere. What a lively place,_ the aircraft carrier thought. _And there are so many people with so many different clothes and appearances… America is so diverse nowadays…_

"Hey! That lady's naked!" Iowa exclaimed, pointing to a topless woman in bodypaint who was walking around. "And there's somebody over there dressed like the Statue of Liberty!"

 _And there are all sorts of strange people as well,_ Saratoga learned after looking in the direction Iowa was pointing.

"I wonder why they're dressed like that. Are they collecting money?" Saratoga asked aloud, but then she realized that Iowa was no longer next to her. "Of course…"

Saratoga went after Iowa, who had walked up to the topless woman out of curiosity.

"Iowa, maybe we shouldn't hang around these people," Saratoga tried to whisper to Iowa, but the din of the crowd drowned that out. Saratoga was also surprised at how many people were just walking past the strangely-dressed figures as if they were completely normal. _Maybe Iowa could have worn her regular outfit after all._

"Woah, you're tall," the bare woman said as Iowa approached. "Nice eyes. Are those contacts?"

"Contacts?" Iowa repeated. "Anyway, why are you naked?"

"The better question is why aren't _you_ naked?" the woman retorted. "You've got a nice body, I'm sure you could pull it off. Those tits are huge. I'm kind of jealous."

"Really?" Iowa said, grabbing her breasts and squeezing them, wondering if they really were that special.

"Definitely. Can I touch them? I'll let you feel mine," the woman smiled seductively at Iowa.

"Eh!?" Iowa blushed.

Saratoga stepped in and pulled Iowa away. "Okay, that's enough. Sorry for bothering you, miss!"

The brown-haired ship girl dragged Iowa back into the crowd. "Iowa… Please don't involve yourself with eccentric people…"

"S-Sorry," Iowa chuckled. "Anyway, where do you want to go next? Can we go see a Broadway show?"

"Hm, let's see… I think I want to go to the airport next," Saratoga answered.

"That's not an option, obviously!" Iowa frowned.

Saratoga returned her frown with one of her own. "We're on duty. We can't be going through the city and fooling around with random people."

Iowa's eyes grew serious. "Sara. How many opportunities like this have we gotten? How many will we get? Remember that we're still warships. If we sink in battle, then it's over. We'll never get to walk the streets of any city ever again, so cherish it while you can."

"Don't be so negative," Saratoga said, a bit surprised by Iowa's shift in tone. "No one's saying that we're going to sink, right? Maybe we'll have plenty more opportunities…"

"Yeah, maybe. Or maybe not," Iowa replied firmly. "Look… Yamato was Japan's strongest battleship, and I hate to admit it, but she may have been the most powerful ship girl too. Now she's dead. Even Captain Drake's secretary ship sunk in battle. I don't want to say this, Sara, but we could easily end up sinking in our next battle. We won't know how short our lives are until it's too late."

The bustle of the city buzzed on as the two ship girls stood there silently.

"I'm sorry. I didn't think of it that way," Saratoga finally said. "We'll go back to the airport later. We still have time to wander through the city if you want."

Iowa shook her head. "It's all right…"

Saratoga looked at the blonde's gloomy expression and immediately felt terrible for squashing Iowa's excitement.

"Don't be like that. How about we visit that clothing store we saw? I think some of the window items would look good on you," Saratoga said, gently putting her arm around Iowa's shoulder.

"... You think so?" Iowa softly asked. "I don't know, I don't have many clothes outside of the ones the navy issued us…"

"All the more reason to buy some more, right? I think that gray dress in particular would make you look sophisticated."

"Really? I liked the blue one more."

The two ship girls walked close together as Iowa regained her smile, and they disappeared into the lively streets of Times Square.


	44. Winds of the Mountains II

His flippers smacked against the metal floor as he walked, and the oxygen tank he was carrying dangled from a strap wrapped around his shoulder. Drake wore a skin-tight black combat diving suit as he traversed through the hallways of the naval base, stopping when he reached a certain door. Reluctantly, he pushed open the door with his free hand and entered into a walkway overlooking a large, open room from above.

Down on the bottom floor was a group of men and women who were also dressed in combat diving suits, though they lacked the flippers and oxygen tank. A man with close-cropped silver hair, hard eyes, and a strong jaw stood at the head of the group, and instead of a diving suit, he wore blue digital camo fatigues. The entire group turned to stare as Drake flapped his way down the stairs and towards them.

"Take those fucking flippers off, God damn it," the man at the head of the group, Major General Wyeth, called out to Drake in a gruff voice.

Sighing to himself, Drake stopped at the base of the stairs, set down his oxygen tank, and pulled off his fins as a few soldiers in the group snickered.

"What the fuck's with the oxygen tank?" Wyeth then growled. "We're not diving today, sailor."

"Fleet Admiral Van Dyke did not tell me your schedule for today, sir," Drake answered.

"Well isn't that just dandy," the general grumbled. "He's probably over in his office having a fucking laugh at this. He keeps on sending you here, knowing full well that it's a fucking nuisance for both you and me. Take that oxygen tank and set it in that corner. Now we got a fucking trip hazard too, just great."

Drake did as he was told and then went over and stood at the back of the pack. The soldiers had mostly recovered from the antics by now, and they were pretty much used to this sort of thing anyway. Ever since Drake had first arrived at this naval base in Wales, Alaska, Fleet Admiral Van Dyke had sent him over to train with the SEALs every so often. It was a ridiculous arrangement since the SEALs did a much different type of training than Drake was used to, so the man in charge of the SEALs at the base, Major General Wyeth, often had to find alternative things for Drake to do or just give him easier versions of the tasks the actual SEALs were assigned. Since Van Dyke outranked Wyeth, there wasn't much the major general could do but complain, but thankfully Wyeth recognized that Drake himself wasn't at fault and didn't treat him too harshly… Though Wyeth was an abrasive and foul-mouthed man by nature, so it didn't really mean much.

 _Well, I guess it's not all bad,_ Drake thought as Wyeth prepared to go over the day's schedule. _These SEALs are specifically training to combat Abyssals, so even though I'm nowhere close to their level, my CQC skills have improved since I got here. I've also learned a couple more useful skills like diving and underwater combat, though I am again not even close to the level that the SEALs are at…_

"All right, for the first half of today, we're going to be holding a CQC tournament," Wyeth began. "You are all far enough along in training that something like this can actually be useful. Now's your chance to show off your skills, so take this seriously. Standard CQC training rules apply, so don't get _too_ crazy. I already have the bracket drawn up, so we can get started on these mats immediately… Oh, wait, the fucking sailor is here today, so we have to add him in somehow."

 _Great. So I'm going to get my ass beat today, huh?_ Drake frowned, already accepting his inevitable defeat.

"Only problem is that we have uneven numbers now," Wyeth rubbed his chin. "Hm… I suppose -"

The door on the lower level then opened, causing everyone to turn and look. A woman dressed in the standard combat diving outfit entered the training area. She had light brown hair tied in a short ponytail, and her sky blue eyes twinkled along with the confident smile she wore.

"Mind if I join in, sir?" the aircraft carrier Intrepid asked.

"A ship girl, eh? Sure. That solves our numbers problem," Wyeth nodded. "Since you heard what we're doing today, you can fight your admiral in the first round."

Intrepid glanced over at Drake, who for his part tried to maintain an even expression.

 _Lucky break. I can beat a ship girl in CQC,_ Drake mused. _At least now I won't be humiliated in the very first round._

"Okay, get to it!" Wyeth clapped his hands together forcefully. "If you're defeated, make sure you watch the other fights and try to learn something!"

The SEALs took a quick look at the whiteboard on the wall which had the bracket drawn out before facing off with their opponents. Drake and Intrepid stood a few feet apart on their own set of mats. Drake noticed that Major General Wyeth had his eye on this match, most likely because it was rare to see a ship girl in CQC, especially for someone who didn't work with them often.

 _He may be looking at Intrepid, but I'm going to teach him not to underestimate me today,_ Drake decided, cracking his knuckles.

"I won't go easy on you, sir," Intrepid smirked at Drake.

"That's fine with me. I'm ready when you are," he said, his blood heating up in anticipation.

Intrepid and Drake dropped into similar CQC stances as they eyed each other. Slowly and cautiously, they approached one another.

 _I've never fought Intrepid in CQC before. I'm guessing she's improved since that time Zuikaku smacked her around, so I'll be a bit careful at first,_ the rear admiral planned.

Drake also had another advantage; he was the one who had first introduced CQC into the training program of the ship girls. Though Van Dyke may have been the pioneer of modern CQC technique, Drake was the one who actually applied that technique to ship girls and taught them how to target an Abyssal's weak points. Since ship girls and Abyssals were similar in structure, those same weak points would also be exploitable on a ship girl, and he was going to take full advantage of that.

Intrepid made the first move and threw a quick jab at Drake, who easily dodged it. To counter, he hooked his elbow towards her eye. However, Intrepid was evidently expecting this, and she deflected his arm and aimed a kick at his left kneecap. He barely turned to avoid it as he backtracked a few feet.

 _I guess the downside to this approach is that Intrepid knows her own weak spots, and so she knows where I'm going to attack too. I need to prod for an opening first._

He moved to re-engage his opponent. His training sessions with the SEALs had made him more confident in his CQC ability, and so he was not afraid of pushing the fight when he needed to. Intrepid looked unperturbed as well, and she readily went to meet him.

 _Hmph. I'll make you pay for your overconfidence,_ Drake thought as he noted Intrepid's smug look.

Like Intrepid had done earlier, Drake aimed a quick kick at the aircraft carrier's knee joint with his left foot. Intrepid sidestepped this, but then Drake moved to jab at her face. Reacting quickly, Intrepid ducked low to the ground, avoiding his blow.

 _Fool! That is exactly what I was hoping you would do,_ Drake grinned, victorious.

His first kick attempt had been deliberately weak, and then he had purposely followed up with a stronger attack to the head area in order to draw Intrepid's attention there. However, what he was really planning was to unleash a full-power kick that would throw her off-balance, and his previous two moves had just been to set this up.

 _And she did me a favor by ducking down like that. Now instead of aiming for her legs, I can just knock her down even harder with a headshot. Take this!_

Drake prepared to pivot on his left leg and finish this with a roundhouse kick, but before he could act, he glimpsed Intrepid suddenly turn in her squatted position and uncoil her leg like a spring. Her foot smashed into Drake's chin, knocking him backwards and sending him to the ground.

"Ugh…" he groaned as his vision swam and he slowly sat up.

Intrepid stood up and strode over to him and looked down on him with her hands on her hips. "I hope I didn't hurt you too bad, sir."

"I'm fine," he replied as he got up, frustrated that he hadn't seen that coming and also a bit annoyed by Intrepid's gloating look. "I guess I underestimated you, huh?"

"We've been doing CQC training with Fleet Admiral Van Dyke," Intrepid informed him.

 _Oh, so is that what they do on days like this when I'm sent over here?_

"Well, I didn't expect you to go very far, but you were defeated pretty fucking quickly," Wyeth said to Drake as he walked over. "You left yourself completely open, you know."

Drake didn't say anything and dusted himself off as he got to his feet. Major General Wyeth just shook his head in disappointment before taking Intrepid off to move on to the next round.

"Ya get your ass kicked again, sailor?" one of the SEALs grinned at Drake. He was a tall and muscular man with a handsome face, wavy brown hair, and a boyish glint in his eye.

"Unfortunately," Drake replied, not really wanting to talk to this guy. His name was James L. Hughes, and he was probably the best SEAL here at the Anchorage base. That reputation made him cocky, and he was generally unpleasant to be around, at least in Drake's opinion.

"That was pretty quick this time," Hughes chuckled. "What, you can't even handle a ship girl? I thought they specialized in long-range naval combat, not CQC."

"She's been trained by Fleet Admiral Van Dyke, so she's not an amateur, apparently," Drake said, trying to defend his early exit from the tournament.

"Uh huh. Aren't you normally with Van Dyke too?" Hughes pointed out.

"Yeah, but I don't do CQC with him except for a few rare occasions. Mostly we just do battle simulations or paperwork."

"That sounds boring as shit. No wonder you're always last whenever we train," Hughes smirked.

"Heh. If it weren't for people like me coming up with the battle plans, you SEALs would be dead within the first five minutes of the fight," Drake scoffed back at him.

"Nice fantasy. You can tell yourself that if you want, but I've got another round to fight, so see ya," Hughes gave him another confident grin as he went back over to the mats for his next match.

 _I don't get any respect around here,_ Drake sighed to himself. Although he was a rear admiral, which was a fairly high rank in the navy, special forces truly did not give a fuck. It also didn't help that he had basically no power here since he was working under Fleet Admiral Van Dyke.

With nothing else to do, Drake stood on the perimeter with the other losers and watched the remainder of the fights. Hughes infuriatingly defeated his next opponent with ease, so Drake moved on to spectate Intrepid. He was sure that she had only beat him because he got overconfident, so he wasn't expecting her to last very long in this contest. Still, since she was part of the traditional section of the navy like he was, he found himself rooting for her anyway.

Right now Intrepid was fighting one of the few female members of the SEALs, and to Drake's surprise, the aircraft carrier was holding her own. The SEAL tried to go for a maneuver that would wrap up and lock up Intrepid's arms, but the ship girl slipped under it and swept the woman's legs out from underneath her. Intrepid then got down on the ground and put the SEAL in a chokehold using her legs, ending the match.

 _She's pretty good, actually,_ Drake marveled. He didn't feel as bad that he lost to her now.

The matches continued until the final round, and predictably, Hughes was one of the combatants in the championship matchup. However, Intrepid had also made it all the way to the finals, which was a surprise to everyone.

"Man, those ship girls really are good at everything," Drake heard one SEAL mutter behind him.

"She's so hot…" another one said under his breath.

"I wish she'd put me in a chokehold," a third commented.

"All right," Wyeth started as the group of SEALs watched Hughes and Intrepid line up on the mats to face each other. "Now begins the final round. Our combatants are Hughes and Intrepid, a ship girl. I'll have you all run extra laps tomorrow for being defeated by a fucking aircraft carrier in CQC, but for now, pay attention to this match and try and understand why you're not standing up here. Okay, you two may begin."

 _Please beat his ass, Intrepid,_ Drake cheered her on in his head. Oh, how good it would feel to see Hughes humiliated in front of everyone.

Both fighters sized each other up in their identical CQC stances. Hughes was bigger and more muscular than Intrepid, but so was Drake and most of the other SEALs, so that didn't mean much. Hughes stepped forward, his perpetual cocky smirk still on his face. Intrepid was not intimidated, and her blue eyes watched her opponent closely.

Hughes tried a quick jab, but Intrepid smoothly moved her head out of the way. Drake had fought Hughes before (and lost), and based on that experience and the other matches he'd seen Hughes in, he could more or less understand Hughes' fighting style. The SEAL tended to start his matches by probing his opponent and looking to see how they would react to various approaches. If he sensed that his opponent was weak, then he would just use full force and finish them immediately. He tried a quick combo of punches followed by a swift kick to Intrepid's knee, but the aircraft carrier blocked both his fists and remained standing even as his foot crashed into her leg. Hughes backed off a bit, evidently realizing that Intrepid was not going to be one of the easy ones.

Intrepid then moved on the attack. From his match with her and the others he had spectated, Drake could tell that Intrepid liked to provide false openings to her opponent and then strike when they least expected it. That, combined with the distracting sight of her figure in a tight diving suit, probably gave her a lot of easy wins, but he doubted that the same tactic would work on someone like Hughes.

Copying Hughes' opening moves, Intrepid tried a flurry of punches, all of which were blocked or dodged by Hughes. However, she then leapt into the air and did a spinning kick with amazing speed, her foot aimed at Hughes' head. The SEAL's green eyes widened in surprise as he barely brought up an arm to block it. He then stepped back again from Intrepid.

"That's some amazing speed," Hughes grinned, rubbing his sore forearm.

Drake agreed with that; no normal human could pull off a move like that with such flawless technique and quickness, not even a Navy SEAL. _Just what is Van Dyke teaching them…?_

Intrepid continued her advance, her hands lightly raised in a grappling position. But instead of grabbing for Hughes or trying another punch, her right leg suddenly shot upwards with what looked like a punting motion. Hughes did a backflip to avoid the blow, landing on his hands and springing to his feet a fair distance away. The dodging maneuver drew quite a few mutters of admiration from the crowd.

"You've got quite the skills yourself," Intrepid admitted with a pumped-up smile.

"Why, thank you," Hughes said as he dropped back into his stance. "Allow me to show you a few more."

Instead of moving slowly and cautiously like he had been the whole fight, Hughes ran towards Intrepid, causing her to have to switch to defense unexpectedly. To everyone's shock, Hughes did not take that opportunity to attack and instead dropped into a combat roll. He rolled underneath Intrepid's legs and emerged behind her, then pivoted for a reverse roundhouse kick with his right leg. Intrepid was clearly caught off-guard, but she managed to save herself by ducking under the blow. It was a similar scenario to what happened in her match with Drake, except this time there was a crucial difference in that Intrepid had been forced into the duck in a hurry and was not in any position to counter.

But that didn't mean she was beaten. Realizing that this position was unfavorable for her and that Hughes was about to finish her, Intrepid used her powerful legs to spring up from her squatting position and tackle Hughes to the ground. Hughes was falling with Intrepid on top of him, and for a moment it looked as if Intrepid had turned the tables and surprised him. And yet, when Hughes fell, he still had that cocky grin on his face. Before he could hit the ground, he grabbed hold of Intrepid and jumped backwards, using Intrepid's own tackle's momentum to slam her onto the mats in a suplex move. Intrepid lay there, stunned, and Hughes put his foot on her throat, ending the match.

Excited chatter went up from the crowd as the SEALs watched Hughes finally put an end to Intrepid's winning streak. Hughes removed his foot and stepped away as Intrepid slowly rose to her feet again. She grunted and rubbed her shoulder, which had been slammed roughly into the ground.

"Well, it was a good match," Hughes said, though he couldn't keep the supremely satisfied tone from his voice. "But the moment you stepped out of CQC moves with that improvised tackle, you lost."

 _Ah, so that's what it was,_ Drake realized. Everyone in the crowd had been surprised when Hughes ran at Intrepid and forced her into defense and yet didn't press his attack. All the other SEALs and Drake would have taken that opportunity to try to strike a heavy, full-power blow, but Hughes had instead bypassed her and rolled beneath her. This was because when Intrepid was on the defense, she was still adhering to the basics of Van Dyke's CQC, and she would be able to tank whatever hit Hughes would throw at her, especially because she was a ship girl. Therefore, Hughes had to create a situation where Intrepid would need to break free of CQC and leave herself open, which is why he waited until she tried that bodyslam before he made his true offensive attack.

Drake watched as Major General Wyeth went over to congratulate Hughes. _But really… This guy is something else. Even if I had thought of that strategy in the match, there's no way I would have the technique to pull it off. He's a natural at this._

"Looks like you lost," the rear admiral said to Intrepid as the attention of the other SEALs shifted back to Hughes.

"Hmph. I won't lose next time," she said, glaring at Hughes, who wasn't even looking her way anymore.

"Nah, he'll probably beat you again," Drake told her with a small smirk. He had to admit he was still a bit sore from his loss to her. "But anyway, I'm going to get out of here so I don't have to watch this circlejerk. I'd suggest you do the same."

Moving while the SEALs and Major General Wyeth were distracted, Drake went over and picked up his oxygen tank and flippers and headed back upstairs. Intrepid followed him, probably recognizing that she wouldn't get her chance for revenge anytime soon.

The one thing Drake liked about being at the Wales base was that the atmosphere was pretty lax for him. He only had one day off on Sundays, but on days like this when Van Dyke sent him over to the SEALs, he could usually escape early because Wyeth didn't care about him and Van Dyke never asked for progress reports either. That meant that he had the rest of the day off.

"Are you going back to Wing A?" Drake asked Intrepid. Wing A was the part of the base where Drake, Van Dyke, and the ship girls usually operated.

"I guess. The Fleet Admiral flew out for a meeting last night and won't be back until Monday, so I don't really have anything to do," Intrepid said.

 _So that's why he must have sent me over to the SEALs today…_ "He didn't leave you any specific orders?"

"He just said to continue our training in the gulf," Intrepid answered.

"Really? He didn't give me any specific orders either," Drake mused.

"Then maybe he's giving us the weekend off?" Intrepid excitedly suggested.

"I doubt that, but he's not going to know either way, so whatever," Drake shrugged. "I could use a longer break once in a while, so you're free to do as you like. Don't tell him I said that, though."

"Nice!" Intrepid grinned. "But wait… There's nothing to do here anyway."

That much was true. No military personnel were allowed off the base, though even that didn't matter much because of how isolated Wales was. The village outside of the base pretty much just consisted of a couple hundred Inuits at most, and there wasn't much worth exploring there outside of vast expanses of snow and ice and the occasional polar bear.

"What do you do during your days off, sir?" Intrepid then asked him.

 _Hm… I can't tell her that I mostly just sit in my room and watch anime and TV all day or browse the Internet…_

"Not much. I pretty much just go to the gym and then hang around," Drake said, purposely giving a vague answer.

"You're at the gym the entire day?" Intrepid gave him a flat look, obviously not pleased at his evasive answer. "We've been here for three months now and I feel like I'm going to lose my mind out of boredom eventually. Can you believe that Iowa and Saratoga actually got to go to New York City before we came here?"

"You literally used to live there."

"Yeah, but I was in the docks the whole time!" Intrepid protested. "And now here I am, stuck in Alaska in the winter. I can't even remember how the sun looks anymore…"

"Oh, come on."

"At least you get to fly home every once in a while, sir, so you wouldn't understand my pain," Intrepid glared at him.

"I kind of like it here, honestly," Drake said. "It's calm and quiet, and the snow and solitude is beautiful in its own way. I could see myself living here when I'm retired."

"Ugh, that sounds horrible," Intrepid disagreed. "I'd take NYC over this place any day. Why were we even assigned to a base all the way out here anyway?"

"It's isolated, so secrecy, maybe? The Abyssals are unlikely to attack here or to even be watching this place… Hold on, I have to stop by here to return the oxygen tank."

Drake went into a closet in the hallway to place the oxygen tank back in place, then returned with his flippers still in hand.

"Are you going back to Wing A too, sir?" Intrepid wondered.

"Yeah. Since you aren't doing anything today, we should all watch a movie together or something," Drake suggested.

"There aren't any movie theaters on base, though," Intrepid reminded him.

"So? We can watch in my room."

"Oooh? You're inviting us to your room, sir?"

Drake frowned at her as she grinned, but then he looked away as a pang of loneliness ran through him. He still remembered when he had watched _Titanic_ with his fleet to celebrate the success of their second mission. He had received no news whatsoever about them since he left Japan, and he was hoping that meant that they were all still safe, though a small part of him knew that one country would never openly reveal if they had lost one of their ship girls. Even Fleet Admiral Van Dyke did not tell him about what was going on in Japan.

"Sir?"

"Uh, what is it?" Drake said, realizing he had been lost in his thoughts.

"I was asking what movie we're going to watch," she repeated, her blue eyes curious as to why he looked so distracted.

"Oh, I've got a couple in mind, so we can choose one when we get back," he said. "Have you seen _Titanic_? I watched it with my fleet in Japan, but I don't know if you'd like it."

"That movie about the ocean liner? I think Iowa and Sara already saw it," Intrepid supplied.

"Really? When?"

"I don't know. I just remember Sara teasing Iowa about how she cried at the end."

" _Iowa_ cried at the end?" Drake repeated, incredulous. "There's no way."

"It's true, apparently," Intrepid nodded. "Maybe we should watch it again just to see that."

Eventually the pair returned to Wing A of the naval base. They went to the lounge area first where they hoped to find the other American ship girls since they didn't have anything to do today, and sure enough, they were all there.

"Hey, you're back!" Iowa greeted. "How'd it go, Intrepid?"

"I lost in the final round," she sighed. "I still beat Admiral Drake, though."

"Aw, did the big bad aircraft carrier beat you up, sir?" Iowa teased Drake.

"Yeah. She made me cry in front of everyone," Drake said.

"R-Really?" Iowa was taken aback.

"No, not really," Drake frowned at her. "Anyway, since it doesn't look like anyone here is doing any actual work, who wants to go see a movie?"

"Wow! For real?" the destroyer Samuel B. Roberts, cheered. Though she was a destroyer escort in her WWII service, the engineers at the base who discovered her judged that her rigging was closer to that of a destroyer's in terms of ship girls.

"I-Is that all right? Won't the Fleet Admiral get mad?" Gambier Bay asked worriedly.

"I mean… He doesn't have to know about it," Drake smirked. "Of course, if you'd rather stay here and do whatever it was that you were doing, then feel free."

"Mm, I don't think I've moved from this spot for hours," Saratoga yawned as she stood up and stretched. "It might be nice to do something different for a change."

Johnston, the newest member of the American fleet, jumped up from beside Saratoga. "I want to go too!"

"Hell yeah! What are we watching?" Iowa asked energetically.

"I heard you're a fan of _Titanic_." He just couldn't resist.

"H-Huh? Who'd you hear that from!" Iowa blushed. "Intrepid! How could you!"

"Hey, don't blame me," Intrepid held her hands up.

"Calm down, we won't watch that," Drake assured the blonde battleship.

The ship girls discussed with each other what sort of movie they would like to see as the group walked over to Drake's room. It was a small, dark space like most of the rooms at the naval base, and it was much smaller than Drake's old flat back in Japan. It consisted of one room with a sofa, a TV, a bed, and a joint private bathroom. There was a single small circular window that looked out onto the snowy Alaskan landscape.

"Hey, this looks exactly like my room," Iowa observed.

"Yeah, except he doesn't have to share it with anyone," Intrepid said.

"I call the bed!" Iowa declared as she let herself fall back onto Drake's bed, her arms outstretched as if she owned the place.

"Hey, make room. That sofa can't fit five people," Intrepid chastised Iowa.

"Sammy and Johnston can sit in Captain Drake's lap," Iowa said, enjoying the space of the bed to herself.

"Okay! You'll let me, right, Admiral?" Johnston asked with a grin.

"For the entire movie?" Drake sighed at the ship girls' antics. "Iowa, just let Intrepid share the bed with you."

"Don't put it like that," Intrepid said.

"Or would you prefer it if Sara sat in your lap, Captain?" Iowa then said with a trollish smile.

"I-Iowa!" Saratoga blushed heavily.

"All right, all right," the battleship relented, moving over to make room for Intrepid.

Drake sat down on the couch and flipped the TV on. Johnston and Samuel B. Roberts happily squished next to him, and Gambier Bay sat on the other side of him. He noticed that Saratoga took the seat farthest away from him, a pink blush still faintly present on her pretty face.

 _Iowa hasn't changed since the day I met her,_ Drake sighed to himself.

"All right, since you're all ship girls, I was thinking of something with a navy theme," the rear admiral started. "How about this one?"

"' _Top Gun_ '?" Iowa read aloud.

"Isn't that the fighter tactics program?" Intrepid asked.

"Yeah, it's about a carrier fighter pilot," Drake confirmed. "Let's just go with this. I've already seen it, but I want to know what you all think of it."

He started the movie, and for the next couple hours or so, the ship girls sat together with their admiral as the film played. Drake was only half paying attention to the movie since this was his second time viewing it, and as he watched with the American ship girls, he couldn't help but feel a sense of longing in his heart. It sounded cheesy, but perhaps it fit well with the movie selection, then.

When the film ended and the credits began to roll, Drake turned and glanced at Iowa.

"So? How was it?"

"It was so cool!" Iowa sat up with a fire in her eyes. "I want to be a fighter pilot now!"

"Calm down, you're already a battleship," Intrepid rolled her eyes.

"What did you think of it, Intrepid? You've got more experience with fighter planes," Drake then asked.

"Hm… It seemed kind of cliched, honestly," Intrepid decided. "I mean, I haven't seen that many movies myself, but even I can tell that some parts were just… Yeah."

"I think I agree with Intrepid," Saratoga added. "It was a bit too predictable."

"I liked it, sir!" Samuel B. Roberts cut in.

"Yeah! It was cool!" Johnston nodded.

"What about you?" Drake prodded Gambier Bay lightly with his elbow.

"M-Me? Um, I… If the Admiral chose it, it must be good, right?" Gambier Bay offered meekly.

"Hah! I don't think that has to be true," Drake grinned. "Actually, the first time I saw it, I thought it was awful. But even so, there's something about its unapologetic and blatant straightforwardness that still holds my interest. The soundtrack is pretty good too."

"It kind of seemed like a navy propaganda film," Intrepid noted.

"Then it definitely worked for Iowa!" Johnston laughed.

Saratoga smiled at the battleship, a mischievous glint in her eye. "I'll at least commend you for not crying this time, Iowa."

"HEY! I did not cry!"

A few minutes later, the ship girls went back to their own quarters, leaving Drake by himself in his room. It was still fairly early in the afternoon and he had the rest of the day off, but he didn't have any plans. He walked up to his small window and stared out at the pure white snow.

 _That was pretty fun. I should hang out with them outside of work more often._

But still, that nagging feeling continued to follow him. What about his fleet back in Japan? Those were the girls that he trained, and he saw them through their first combat operations in their new lives as ship girls. They were also with him for his own first real battles where he was the man in charge, but now, they were across the ocean from each other.

Was he on the correct path right now? Sure, he was back with Fleet Admiral Van Dyke and was training to improve his combat skills, but could he actually say that he was getting better? If he were put in a similar situation to the Battle of Okinawa now, would he be successful? Or was all this just the beginning of the end for him? This new post was undoubtedly less involved than his previous assignment in Japan, and it was entirely possible that his next post would be even further away from the action. He realized that he could potentially never see his fleet again, and that he would never go into battle against the Abyssals either.

If he was being honest, a part of him felt relieved at that. All his experiences with the Abyssals had been truly terrible, and he still sometimes had nightmares about being chased through the passageways by that Ne-class. The lives of those who died in the line of duty because of him were fresh in his mind, and he often thought about the people of Tangier, the men on those destroyers, Lieutenant Commander Longfellow, and Kaga. If he couldn't fight anymore, then what did they all die for? He felt like he asked himself this question everyday, but he still didn't have an answer to it.

People were still out there on the frontlines, waiting for the next big Abyssal attack. He was sure that his fleet in Japan would be included in that defense, but he wasn't sure that he would be. More people would fight and die against the Abyssals, and all he could do was watch from his post in the far northern reaches of the snowy wastelands of Alaska, a failure. This was his solemn penance.

He moved away from the window and sat down on his bed. Out here, the sun would set early, and it was beginning to get dark out. As his room became shrouded in shadows, Drake recalled things about the base. He remembered Houshou's warm glow, Zuikaku's rough but friendly words, Rear Admiral Genji's perpetual scowl even as he sat down to eat lunch with Drake, and the lazy but cute smile Bismarck wore when she was drunk.

 _And they're all still fighting… Just what the fuck am I doing here!_

Drake angrily clenched his fists, but that was all he could do. He was buried in the snow even as the fires of war raged around him. His mind tore at him, and he was constantly being pulled in different directions. On one hand, he felt like he had to get back into the fight by any means necessary. However, he also recognized that realistically, there was nothing he could do to force his superiors to give him back his command. A third part of him, the part he hated the most, let out a sigh of relief at his exit from the battlefield and wished things could forever stay this peaceful for him. And the final part of him was crushed by the weight of the dead he had left behind, too strained to even speak.


	45. Winds of the Mountains III

A Howa Type 89 assault rifle rested horizontally across Kashima's lap as she sat on the bench inside the helicopter, the blades whirling in the wind outside. Her periwinkle-colored eyes were fixed on the ship girl seated across the helicopter from her as she rested her cheek on the palm of her hand and pouted.

"W-What is it?" Murasame asked, unnerved by how Kashima was looking at her. Like the training cruiser, Murasame was also had a weapon, though hers was an MP7 submachine gun that hung from the strap on her shoulder.

"Huh? Oh, sorry," Kashima apologized after she realized she was staring. "It's just that you look so different now. I wish my remodel had made me more beautiful."

"Yeah, your legs got longer and your tits got bigger, Murasame," Sendai grinned from beside her. "But Kashima, I don't think you can get any more beautiful than you already are, so don't worry about it."

"That's nice of you," Kashima smiled. "But even you got a cool new outfit, Sendai. I'm still the same old me…"

"Well, you're stronger, right? You _did_ get remodeled, after all," Murasame reminded her.

"Yeah, but my remodel is a Kai version. It's not as good as the Kai Ni one you guys got," Kashima sighed.

"Hey, they said the difference between Kai and Kai Ni wasn't that big," Sendai brought up. "And not everyone who gets a Kai Ni changes her appearance either. Fubuki got one and she still looks the same."

"That's true, I guess…"

The three ship girls were part of a helicopter convoy that was currently flying over the city of Brisbane, Australia. The remaining helicopters contained the other members of the fleet formerly under the command of Rear Admiral Richard Drake, along with some extra special forces members from the elite division of the Australian Army. Tonight, their objective was to locate and then capture or kill an Abyssal Princess believed to be operating on land in this city. Apparently US sailors had already been killed by this Abyssal, and the first special forces team that had been sent after her had yet to return or report back.

"Still, I can't believe Commander Keats is dead," Sendai then said. "I mean… If the guy who taught us how to use these weapons lost to this Abyssal, can we really beat her?"

"We don't know he's dead yet," Murasame corrected her. "Also, we are ship girls and he's a human, so we're much more durable. Commander Keats may have been more skilled in terms of operations like this, but our bodies make up for that. I think we can definitely pull this off."

"It's a night battle as well, so shouldn't you be happy, Sendai?" Kashima pointed out.

"True!" Sendai immediately perked up. "I'll teach this Abyssal bitch not to mess with a true demon of the night!"

A few minutes later, all the helicopters except for one touched down in a grassy field in the city's Botanical Gardens. The area was deserted and had been cordoned off a few hours ago by local authorities, allowing the ship girls to work unencumbered. INFCOM had decided to act on this matter now because they had received some strong intelligence that the Princess was in this area, and therefore they had flown in Drake's former fleet to deal with the problem. This fleet was chosen because they currently had no commander and because they were the only ship girls trained in land operations, and INFCOM also wanted to test the effectiveness of the new remodels in a smaller-scale engagement before an actual naval battle.

The helicopter that didn't land in the gardens headed off to the north instead, closer to the Brisbane River. A small group of ship girls would be deployed with their rigging in the river to provide naval shelling support if necessary.

The ship girls spilled out of their respective helicopters and gathered up as the Australian spec ops team took charge.

"All right, just to briefly recap, here is the situation," the Australian commander began. "The Abyssal Princess in question is somewhere in this garden complex. We don't truly have the element of surprise anymore since we had to clear the area a few hours ago, but at the very least, the Princess has only had a limited time to prepare for a potential attack. That's why we rushed you girls in here by air instead of by sea. Also, don't expect any help from our armed forces because this is supposed to be a quiet operation and it's going to take place near densely-populated areas. Too many forces could also just scare the Princess off. Our military is only going to step in if things get _really_ bad, but that is the absolute worst case scenario. Aside from that, we're going to proceed as planned."

The Australian special forces team then took point, their weapons raised as they cautiously and silently moved through the dark garden park. They would be leading the ship girls to the target, but once they reached her, they were supposed to shift to a support role instead of engaging the Abyssal directly.

"This place actually looks really pretty," Fubuki said quietly as the group of ship girls began following the Australian special forces.

"Yes, it looks like it could be a nice place to visit during the daytime," Yahagi agreed.

"I read there's even a bonsai garden somewhere inside," Suzuya added.

"You all, don't make any unnecessary noise," Shoukaku turned and said to the chatting ship girls.

"Eeeeh? It's not like it matters. She knows we're here anyway," Suzuya complained.

Shoukaku frowned as she adjusted her grip on her sniper rifle. "Yes, but she doesn't know exactly where we are aside from where the helicopters landed, so we may still be able to surprise her."

"Oi, silver hair, quiet down," one of the Australians hushed.

"S-Sorry," Shoukaku apologized, then glared at the giggling Suzuya.

A little bit further back, some of the destroyers were walking together. Yamakaze glanced nervously at her sister Shigure, who had been remodeled to her Kai Ni form. More importantly, Shigure was now able to function properly again… For the most part, that is.

"Tch. All this walking is getting boring. Why won't that bitch show herself already so I can put a bullet through her damn skull?" Shigure growled.

"U-Um," Yamakaze was about to speak up, but her older sister turned her narrowed blue eyes on her, and she diverted her own gaze and looked down at her MP7 instead.

"Aren't you nervous, Shigure?" Murasame asked cautiously. "I mean… You have less training with firearms than we do, don't you?"

"They taught me the basics in Tokyo to catch up with you guys. It's not that hard," Shigure brushed her off. "Of course, I'd prefer it if I could splatter this Abyssal cunt with my cannons instead, but this will have to do for now."

Murasame shared a concerned look with Yamakaze before the two fell silent again. Ever since her remodel, Shigure had become more aggressive and harsher than her usual self. She still cared about her sisters and comrades, but whenever the Abyssals were brought up, her once-soft blue eyes turned into icy daggers of steel, and her mouth twisted into an enraged scowl.

"You sound pretty cocky. Even though we're remodeled now, this is still a Princess we're going up against," Shiranui reminded Shigure.

Shigure smirked. "Oh, you're mistaken. I plan on not holding back during this fight, and I'll use every last bit of my bloodlust to tear her into scrap metal. I know it won't be an easy fight, but as always, I will leave the battlefield alive. Only this time, I'll make sure that the enemy is reduced to a fine red paste before I do."

 _I don't think she really listened to me,_ Shiranui thought, but made no further comment. This new Shigure didn't seem like someone you wanted to mess around with.

"U-Um, Shigure, let's do our best together during this fight!" Asashio shakily said, trying to defuse the harsh atmosphere. She had been remodeled to Kai Ni as well, but like the others, she was still nervous around Shigure.

"Huh? Yeah," Shigure gave a half-hearted reply as her killer gaze scanned the shadows of the gardens. Many of the lights had been turned off specifically for today, so it was unusually dark.

" _You in position yet, guys?"_ Zuikaku's voice sounded through their earpieces, speaking to the whole fleet.

" _Not yet,"_ Shoukaku replied over comms. " _What about you?"_

" _Yeah. All good here."_

Zuikaku, Yura, and Amatsukaze were the ships who were currently sailing atop the Brisbane River and would be providing fire support.

" _You can go ahead and launch the recon,"_ the Australian commander cut in. " _We're close enough to the designated point."_

" _Roger."_

"So we're going to wait for Zuikaku's night recon first. See if she finds anything," Murasame restated, hoping that Shigure wouldn't just go charging off if she got annoyed by the waiting.

Predictably, Shigure wasn't a fan of the plan. "The Abyssal scum is definitely going to sense a ship girl's recon plane from this close. This is stupid."

"S-She already knows we're here, so it shouldn't be a problem," Yamakaze timidly said. Since Shigure was her sister, she felt like it was her duty to calm her down too. "If the Abyssal destroys our recon, she won't necessarily know our location, just the location of the plane…"

Shigure looked unsatisfied at that, but she didn't say anything more and just impatiently tapped her submachine gun against her thigh.

The fleet took cover behind a large section of bushy plants and began waiting for Zuikaku's report. After a few minutes, something came in from the radio.

" _Found her. She's in the tropical dome,"_ Zuikaku told them. " _However, there are other hostiles nearby that we didn't expect. There's about ten of them."_

"Really? Other Abyssals?" Shoukaku asked for confirmation. That certainly wasn't in the mission briefing.

" _I don't know. I guess so. My plane was shot down before I could confirm, but there were definitely other radar signatures nearby."_

"What do we do about them?" Shoukaku turned to the Australians.

"That depends. Can you girls handle ten extra enemies?" the commander asked.

Shoukaku thought it over. All of the ship girls had been remodeled, and the ten extra enemies were no doubt regular Abyssals rather than Princess-class, so they should be easier to take down than the Princess herself.

"Yes. We can defeat them," Shoukaku confidently stated.

The commander nodded. "All right, then. Let's get moving."

The group headed in the direction of the tropical dome, ever the more cautious now that it was revealed that there were ten more enemies they would have to face. They crept through the shrubbery, slowly encroaching upon the large dome that contained the Abyssal. However, as they approached, five figures suddenly sprung up from the darkness.

Shoukaku pulled out her sidearm and pointed it at the shadows and she heard the others raise their own weapons, but then a voice called out something in English.

"Don't shoot!"

That gave everyone a moment of pause, and the shadowy figures did not attack either. When another few seconds passed and nothing happened, the Australian commander lowered his weapon.

"Who are you cunts? You don't look like Abyssals," he demanded to know.

The figures moved closer, and the Australians raised their weapons again. However, now that the figures were closer, Shoukaku could make them out. Her golden eyes widened in surprise.

"Commander Keats?" she said, dumbfounded.

"Yo. Long time no see," the blond man said with a grin. His four SEAL teammates were behind him, apparently unharmed as well.

"The Americans?" the Australian commander realized with visible confusion. "What the hell…?"

"Yeah, about that… It's a long story," Keats sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. "Either way, don't we have more important matters to deal with right now? There are five Abyssals in that dome, you know."

"Wait. How did you get here?" Shoukaku asked the Americans.

"I told you, it's a long story," Keats repeated. "I mean, we _could_ sit here and chat about it, but I have a feeling the Abyssals are eventually just going to come out and murder us while we're telling stories. Always focus on the mission at hand, right?"

"We were told you were dead," Akagi interjected.

Keats sighed as he put his hands on his hips. "Yeah, makes sense. We haven't contacted command for a while now. Still, we can explain, but not now. Like I said, there are Abyssals right in there."

" _What's taking so long?"_ Zuikaku's voice suddenly broke in through the radio.

As Shoukaku moved away to answer her sister, Haruna went over to the Australians.

"What do we do now? Is it all right to continue the mission?" she asked.

"Hn… I suppose so," the commander grunted. "You Americans have got some explaining to do later, but for now, I assume we can count on your help?"

Keats smiled. "That's why we're here, chief. Let's get started!"

"Fine. You're on point," the Australian gestured with his gun.

Now with the SEALs leading, the group moved towards the entrance of the dome. They pushed open the doors and were greeted with the sight of a plethora of different trees and plants all enclosed by the round, transparent, webbed ceiling of the dome. There was a small pond in the middle of the dome, but aside from that, there were no Abyssals to be found.

"What the…" Keats started. "Shit, where are they? They were just here a minute ago…"

"Could they be submerged in that pond?" Shoukaku suggested.

Keats' eyes lit up. "Oh, yeah, I forgot that they could do that. Uh, so I hate to do this, but could you girls go up and check it out? I'd help, but you're probably more durable on the front lines."

"That's fine. Leave it to us," Shoukaku nodded.

"All right. Show me you haven't forgotten what I taught you!" Keats grinned. He then turned to the Australians. "What do you say we go over there behind those plants and provide some cover?"

The Australians complied and went with the SEALs, and Shoukaku led the ship girl fleet forward and towards the pond.

"Are they really hiding in there? It looks pretty shallow," Sendai remarked.

"Where else could they be?" Yahagi replied. "But keep your guard up. They're probably waiting to fire once we get close."

"Yes. Be on your guard and be prepared to take cover," Shoukaku advised, her handgun pointed towards the pond as she slowly advanced upon it.

"Damn, if I'd brought my cannons, I could just blast them out," Shigure lamented with a deep scowl.

The group of ship girls were moving very slowly and carefully, and they gradually got closer to the pond. However, the water gave away no signs of movement, and it did look fairly shallow.

"Maybe they're not here after all. Could they have left the dome while we were talking to the Americans?" Kashima wondered.

"Wait, what's that?" Yamakaze pointed to something large and shiny resting half in the water. It appeared to be made of metal, and it was almost camouflaged in the darkness.

Shoukaku squinted at the object. _It doesn't look like an Abyssal, but…_

" _Shit, there's something in the river!"_ Zuikaku interrupted forcefully through the comms, causing a few of the ship girls to jump in alarm. Cannon reports could be heard in the background of Zuikaku's transmission. " _Guh, it's her fucking beast! She left her beast in the river, damn it!"_

It took a moment for that to fully process for Shoukaku, but as soon as it did, a loud beep went off and a wave of heat slammed into her. She then found herself sent flying, and she smashed right through the glass of the dome and landed painfully on her back on the dirt outside, bouncing a few times before she came to a stop. As she lay there on the rocky soil, her vision swimming, shards of glass and other material rained down all around her. A large hole had been smashed in the dome, and a trail of fire and smoke emerged from it.

 _An explosion…_ She slowly regained her senses. _That metal object in the pool must have been a bomb._

Pain coursed through her body, and she examined her injuries. Her shirt had been blown off from just below her breasts, and her skirt was torn in numerous places, leaving her left leg completely bare. However, aside from a few deep burns and pieces of shrapnel that were lodged inside her, she was mostly functional. Her legs still worked, as did her arms and her eyes and ears. The armor upgrade from her remodel had definitely helped, and she could still fight.

The only problem was that she had nothing to fight with. Her pistol was gone, lost somewhere in the explosion, and the sniper rifle that had been on her back was banged up pretty badly and she didn't know if it could fire properly anymore.

Suddenly, Shoukaku felt an intense sting on the back of her right arm, and she hurriedly turned around to see a Wo-class Abyssal standing behind her. The Wo-class was not wearing the large cap that they usually launched their planes from, but she did have what appeared to be a weapon in her hand. It was a strange-looking object that was similar to a pistol or a submachine gun in shape, but it was more round and curved and was glowing in certain spots with cyan energy. Nevertheless, it was clear from the pain in her arm that the Abyssal had shot her with the weapon.

Shoukaku stepped back and put up her guard. She briefly stole a glance at her wound and saw that the shot had burned through her skin and armor, revealing the steel bones underneath. It didn't appear that the weapon could burn through the steel skeleton and get to the organs within with just one shot, and Shoukaku didn't plan on finding out if more than one could do it.

She rushed at the Wo-class, who quickly fired off another shot in response. This time Shoukaku got a glimpse of the ammo it fired, and it looked to be a sort of energy weapon as it was shooting cyan blue bullets. Just before the Abyssal fired, Shoukaku had dropped to the ground and into a combat roll to avoid it. The Wo-class pointed her gun at Shoukaku again and reacquired her target. Shoukaku ducked behind a small plant with spiky leaves, and the Abyssal's bullet burned right through the leaves of the plant but missed the ship girl.

Using her carrier strength, Shoukaku tore the plant out of the ground with its roots and all and hurled it at the Wo-class. Surprised, the Wo-class barely sidestepped it, but she was not able to avoid Shoukaku's shoulder slam, which knocked her to the ground. Shoukaku then jumped on top of the Abyssal and used her new, remodeled power to smash the Wo-class' face in with a devastating punch.

 _That kind of hurt my first,_ she thought as she wrung out her hand. _Well, good thing this Wo-class was relatively weak. It seems the regular Abyssals here aren't that strong, thankfully._

She bent over and picked up the Abyssal's gun, studying it curiously. She aimed it at a nearby tree and prepared to fire a test shot, but then she felt the gun heating up severely and noticed it was glowing a bright blue. Realizing what was about to happen, Shoukaku tossed the weapon far away and watched as it exploded in a burst of cyan.

 _So they blow up if they are used by anyone other than an Abyssal?_

Regardless, Shoukaku had to get back to the rest of the fleet. Sadly, Commander Keats and the Australians had definitely died or were gravely injured in that explosion, but the ship girls were most likely all alive thanks to their remodels. However, if the Abyssals were here, then the ship girls were probably being attacked by the Princess. Shoukaku was also worried about Zuikaku, but she didn't want to interrupt her over the comms in case she was busy. Also, it was three ship girls versus one Abyssal beast out there on the river, so she doubted that Zuikaku would lose. It did mean that she wouldn't be able to count on Zuikaku, Yura, or Amatsukaze for support in this fight, though.

Shoukaku reentered the tropical dome and paused to catch her breath.

 _It seems that explosion did more damage to me than I thought._ She wheezed as the sounds of gunfire and lasers emanated from her right, off behind some foliage. She had been the one closest to the explosion, so she had probably taken the brunt of the damage.

Hearing footsteps, Shoukaku looked to the left to see Commander Keats.

"Made it back, huh?" he said, a lazy smile still on his face despite what had happened.

"Commander Keats? How are you…"

He tapped something hard on his back. "Blast shields. Glad I brought them with us. Unfortunately, our Australian friends didn't make it."

Shoukaku felt a bit of relief that their allies were not all dead, but that quickly turned into suspicion.

 _Wait, something isn't right here. Commander Keats and the SEALs showed up out of nowhere even though they had been out of contact with us for months. They also were somehow able to remain alive despite being in presence of the Abyssal Princess before we got here. Furthermore, they are the ones who led us into the tropical dome and to the pond specifically, and they are the only ones who survived that explosion unscathed._

"Commander Keats, I'd like to know how and why you got here tonight," Shoukaku asked him, her eyes hard.

Keats looked bewildered. "Right now? Do you realize we're in the middle of a firefight?"

"Yes. I want to hear it right now. All of it," she firmly refused to back down.

The two stared at each other for a few seconds before Keats smiled again. "You know what, you're not as dumb as you look."

 _So it's like that after all…_ "Why did you betray us? How can you work with the Abyssals? They want to kill all of us, including you!"

"The Abyssal over there fighting your fleet is called the Central Princess," Keats told her. "I'm sure you know this already, but Abyssals are born from the negative emotions of war. The Central Princess in particular was born from the events at Pearl Harbor."

 _Pearl Harbor?_ Of course, Shoukaku did remember that day, though she did not understand why Keats was bringing that up now.

"You're one of the carriers who participated in that raid, right?" Keats asked rhetorically. "As is that other carrier, Akagi. Your sister did too, but I guess she's not in attendance today. Do you even know what happened to the men who died that day, while you were hanging back in the ocean and launching plane after plane?"

Shoukaku thought she saw Keats' eyes glow a dull red color.

"They were slaughtered." His tone grew darker but the friendly grin remained on his face, providing for a stark contrast. "They died in the dark, trapped in enclosed spaces as their lungs filled with water slick with the black oil from the ships that you sunk. Some of them were trapped for days underwater, begging their comrades to come and save them, but nothing could be done. Days after the attack, the docks were haunted all day and night by the screams and desperate cries of the sailors still buried within their overturned ships, unable to be rescued and condemned to stay trapped until they died of thirst. That is the legacy you left behind."

Shoukaku knew that the Pearl Harbor attack had undoubtedly caused immense damage and pain, but to hear it spelled out like that was horrifying. Nevertheless, people died in war all the time, and she was just a warship back then with no conscious mind of her own.

"So that's why you betrayed us? For revenge?" Shoukaku said in disbelief. "There's no way that's true. If that's the case, then why did you help us back at the base? Why didn't you show any signs of animosity then? No, it's clear that something changed you once you got here, and that something must have been the Abyssal Princess. What did she say to you?"

Keats' smile curled up into a smirk. "She didn't say anything. All I needed was to be in her presence to understand the terrible nature of war and why all you ship girls need to be exterminated. In fact, the human race as a whole should be destroyed. We won't have to suffer anymore then, will we?"

 _This is a different man from the laid-back SEAL operative I first met all those months ago,_ Shoukaku thought. _I don't know what capabilities this Central Princess has, but she has poisoned his mind. It's no use communicating with him._

"Listen, ship girl. Your life ends here," Keats pointed to her. "You may be good at naval combat, and I may have taught you how to fight with a weapon, but there's one thing you can't beat me in."

Keats pulled out a combat knife. "I'll carve your heart out myself."

Shoukaku dropped into the CQC stance that her admiral had taught her, prepared to defeat Keats even if she was at a disadvantage.

"That's the Liberation Close Quarters Combat stance…!" Keats said in shock. "Where'd you learn that from? It's only taught to members of the US military!"

"That doesn't matter. All you need to know is that you will die if you face me," Shoukaku fought back at him with equally harsh words. "Surrender or I will take your life."

"Hmph. You may know the stance, but can you fight like a SEAL?" Keats flipped the knife in his hand stylishly. "Both ship girls and Abyssals still have weak spots like their eyes or the insides of their mouths or things like that up close. This is the wrong type of fight for you, girl."

 _I'm done talking._ Shoukaku approached Keats, who readied his own identical stance with his combat knife. _Remember what the Admiral said… Don't rush a skilled enemy. I have to look for an opening first._

Keats jabbed at her, and Shoukaku blocked it with her forearm, barely getting a scratch. _And this is the one advantage that I do have. He can't hurt me unless he throws, stuns, or chokes me. That knife is useless unless it hits me in specific spots._

The SEAL then tried a combo of punches and kicks. He was a fast fighter and better than Drake or any other CQC combatant Shoukaku had ever fought against, so she was forced to only block the few hits that would have actually done damage for her. The rest she was forced to take, and though they did hurt, they did not make her lose her balance or anything dangerous like that.

Keats backed off a bit. "I wonder how long this strategy of your will work."

In a flash, he flicked his wrist, sending his knife slicing through the air in a skilled throw. The knife shot past Shoukaku's left eye, cutting it open.

"Ggh!" Shoukaku grit her teeth as waves of agony burned into her skull.

Keats' boot then collided with her stomach, and she gasped as she fell to the ground. She then felt two strong, gloved hands wrap themselves around her throat, constricting her windpipe. Tears of blood poured out of her damaged left eye, and she struggled to maintain her vision even with her one working eye. She reached up her arms to remove him, but he quickly rolled off her before she could grab onto him. She sat up, but she was unable to get to her feet as Keats launched a roundhouse kick at her head which sent her mind spinning again.

 _He's trying to reach his knife,_ she realized even in her dazed state. If he did, that could mean the end for her.

She then realized something. Since the sniper on her back had been sitting there for the entire mission, Shoukaku almost forgot she even had it. It was damaged beyond all repair by now, but she slung it off her back anyway and pointed its barrel at Keats, who had picked up his knife.

"Aaargh!" she yelled incoherently as she charged at Keats, the barrel of her M24 sticking out like a cavalry lance.

Before Keats could react, she used her immense strength to skewer him with the gun, jamming the crooked barrel inside his stomach. Keats made a gurgling sound as blood erupted from his mouth, and he vainly clutched at the sniper rifle embedded inside him. Moments later, he stumbled and fell to the ground, dead.

* * *

Bullets and shots from the Abyssals' plasma weapons flew around the tropical dome, shredding many of the plants along with the infrastructure of the dome itself. The ship girls were currently hiding behind the cover of some leafy plants, the lot of them scattered about the area so that the Abyssals would have to spread out their fire.

"Ugh, we're pinned down here," Murasame noted from her position behind an exotic-looking tree trunk.

Shigure popped out from behind her cover to spray at the enemy with her MP7 machine gun, though it didn't appear to have much effect on armored enemies from this range. With a curse, the blue-eyed destroyer ducked back behind the plant.

"We should have been equipped with grenades or something," Shiranui complained bitterly as she lay prone, trying to fire at the Abyssals without them being able to shoot back at her.

"We need to break this stalemate," Kiso decided. She then stood up and unsheathed the new anti-armor sword that she got with her remodel and pointed it in the direction of the enemy. "All units, charge! We will destroy them in a head-on attack!"

"What the hell are you doing!" Shiranui hissed at her.

A few of the plasma bullets came flying at Kiso, but she managed to slide behind cover in time. "Tch, the enemy are cowards. Why won't they face me!"

Just then, a stream of slick, black oil came spurting out from the direction of the Abyssals and shot towards the ship girls. It didn't hit any of them, but it did manage to splash into a tree, and when it did, the plant immediately disintegrated in a hiss of steam.

"That's the biggest problem. It wouldn't be good to be hit by that oil stream that the Princess spews," Yahagi grimaced as she watched the tree disappear.

"The other three Abyssals are protecting the Princess so that she can use that move," Haruna observed. "If we can destroy them, then we can surround the Princess."

A few smaller explosions sounded, causing the ship girls to look over to their right where the other half of their group was located.

"What was that?" Yamakaze asked as she clutched her weapon.

Sendai came running out from the foliage and slid over to the other ship girls. "Hey. Anybody seen Shoukaku?"

The other ship girls shook their heads.

"Ah, fuck," Sendai groaned. "I guess she was sent flying by the explosion since she was in front. She probably went through that hole in the ceiling."

"Do you think she's all right?" Haruna asked with worry.

"As long as that explosion didn't outright kill her, then yeah," Sendai nodded. "I don't know if you noticed, but there are only three Abyssals in addition to the Princess. That means that the fourth one is missing, and I'm guessing she went to finish off Shoukaku. Considering that this fourth Abyssal hasn't come back, then Shoukaku probably killed her."

"But Shoukaku hasn't come back either…" Yamakaze pointed out.

"Oh, right… Well, nothing we can do about that right now," Sendai shrugged as a few more explosions punctured the air. "Those explosions are from a grenade launcher of some sort. Those SEAL bastards betrayed us and are fighting with the Abyssals."

"What?!" Murasame cried out.

"Hm. Actually, now that I think about it, it was kind of obvious," Shiranui nodded. "The reason why we couldn't make the connection when we first saw them was because it's unfathomable for a human to work with an Abyssal for any reason whatsoever, but it looks like that isn't true in this case."

Shigure smirked. "How stupid of them to pick the losing side. Well, I'll enjoy filling them with bullet holes too, then."

"Okay, but we're going to have to break through their lines first," Sendai replied, unamused by Shigure's bloodlust. "Some of us had already had our armor damaged by that explosion, and a direct hit from a grenade launcher could be bad. It probably won't kill us, but if we're disabled or stranded, that Princess sure can. We need to exercise caution."

"Oh? I didn't expect to hear that from you of all people," Shiranui said, impressed by Sendai's prudence.

"Hey, night battles are my specialty, whether it's on land or water," Sendai proudly stated. "This isn't Guadalcanal, so we can't just win with an all-out brawl. We have to isolate and destroy the enemy one by one."

"Then maybe we should link back up again. We can overwhelm them with numbers," Haruna offered.

Sendai nodded. "Yeah, I was thinking the same. Let's try it."

The other ship girls followed Sendai as she led them to the part of the dome where the remaining part of the fleet was fighting. As they headed over, Sendai fired off a few silenced shots of her rifle in the direction of the Abyssals as covering fire.

"Sendai! Did you find Shoukaku?" Fubuki asked as the light cruiser returned.

"No. We're going to attack without her," Sendai said.

"Are we assaulting the enemy?" Akagi asked. She had her sniper rifle resting on one knee as she looked through the scope towards the Abyssals.

"Yeah, I'll take some of us towards them while the rest of us stay back and provide longer-range support," Sendai informed her. "I think the submachine guns are supposed to be used for close-range attacks, right? Then I'll take the destroyers."

"Hey, take me too! I've got this!" Suzuya waved her Model 870 shotgun.

Kiso unsheathed her sword with a toothy grin. "I'm going too! I've been waiting for this!"

"Okay. Akagi, you, Haruna, and Kashima should stay back here."

"Roger that," Akagi replied as she continued looking through her scope. "Watch out for that Princess, though. She's been emitting black and red liquid through some pores in her body throughout the battle, so you might not want to get too close to her."

"Got it," Sendai acknowledged. "All right, everyone. Let's move!"

The group rushed forward in the direction of the enemy, advancing behind the cover of the foliage whenever they could. Eventually they came upon a Ri-class, who looked startled at their sudden appearance.

"Fucking die!" Shigure yelled at the Abyssal as she squeezed her trigger and unloaded her clip on the heavy cruiser.

The other destroyers joined in, but their bullets bounced harmlessly off the Ri-class' armor and barely served to annoy her. The Ri-class retaliated with a shot from the sleek, black rifle she held, and a cyan stream of energy lasered out and hit Asashio in the leg.

"Wha- !" she cried out in alarm as the laser sheared off skin and muscle alike, cutting her open all the way to her steel femur. She dropped to one knee and winced in pain.

"Get outta the way!" Suzuya cautioned as she pumped her shotgun at the Ri-class.

The shotgun seemed to do more damage to the Ri-class, and the Abyssal staggered a bit as she was hit.

"Prepare yourself!" Kiso loudly exclaimed as she took that opportunity to rush in with her cutlass.

With a dynamic flair, she swung her sword upwards towards the Abyssal's neck, cutting it open and sending cyan blood flying into the air and splattering the leaves of a nearby plant. The Ri-class gagged and fell backwards, more bright blood continuing to spill out of her neck as it pooled atop the dark soil.

"Onwards, comrades!" Kiso grinned victoriously, pointing her cutlass forward as she put her boot atop the dead Abyssal's chest.

"What a showoff," Shiranui muttered.

"Yeah! I'm fired up now!" Suzuya cheered, slapping her shotgun.

Shigure scowled angrily as she loaded a new clip into her MP7 from the ammo pouches on her waist. "These shits don't go down easily, huh?"

"D-Don't worry, I'm sure you'll get another chance," Yamakaze tried to reassure her sister, not liking the deadly look on Shigure's face.

Shigure smiled savagely. "Yeah. I'm going to take that Princess' head."

Sendai glanced at Asashio. "Are you all right to move, Asashio?"

"Yes, I'm fine. It only hurts a little, but I can still move at this pace," Asashio dutifully replied. The group wasn't moving very quickly anyway because of the enclosed space and copious amounts of cover available.

"I'm going to go around the back and try to flank them," Sendai said to the group next. "You guys should go forward and push on towards the Princess. Just be sure to stay in cover when you can."

Sendai split off from the group as they went on. This time, they ran into two masked Chi-class torpedo cruisers who were taking cover behind some tree trunks as they fired at the ship girls with the same plasma weapon that the Ri-class had been using. The ship girls took cover as well behind a pair of rocks.

"We should probably try getting closer to them," Murasame suggested as she reloaded her weapon.

"Yeah, but they've got us pinned down again," Suzuya said. "Maybe I can blast right through those tree trunks with this shotgun…"

"Worth a try," Murasame shrugged. "Here, I'll cover you."

The newly-remodeled destroyer's right eye glowed a red color as she aimed down her sights at the Abyssal positions and squeezed off a few bursts. Suzuya stood up to assault their position, but before she could act, she watched as Sendai suddenly appeared behind the Abyssal on the left and slit her throat with a knife made from the same material as Kiso's cutlass. Cyan blood seeped out from the wound as the Abyssal clutched at her throat, and Sendai ended the Chi-class with a quick stab to the back of the head.

As Sendai was finishing up, a loud shot rang out through the dome, and the second Chi-class on the right's mask shattered into pieces as Akagi's sniper bullet struck her in the face. Unfortunately the shot didn't outright kill the Abyssal, but it did stun her and cause her to wobble dizzily. Suzuya was about to take that chance and rush the vulnerable Chi-class, but then she noticed the Princess looking their way from where she stood in the back.

"Sendai! Get out of there!" Suzuya yelled.

The light cruiser didn't know what Suzuya was talking about, but she nevertheless heeded her comrade's warning and somersaulted away from the Abyssal corpse and into some foliage on the side. Moments later, a wave of black oil spewed forth from the Princess and swallowed up the area. The obsidian liquid hissed as it made contact with the soil and trees, and it moved as if it had a mind of its own, seeking out the two Abyssals. The corpse and the still-living Abyssal were both consumed by the black oil, and the hissing grew more intense as they disappeared within the blackness. The oil then began evaporating.

"Damn, fuck that shit," Suzuya wrinkled her nose in disgust.

"Yeah, let's not get anywhere near that," Murasame agreed.

"Nevertheless, we must advance!" Kiso shouted with her sword out for what felt like the millionth time tonight. "Push forward and spill the Princess' blood!"

"Yeah, thanks, boss," Suzuya rolled her eyes at the torpedo cruiser. "Let's go, people! She's waiting for us!"

The ship girls surged forward with their own battlecries. A lone Wo-class stood in between the Princess and the fleet, but she was knocked over almost immediately by a shot to the head from Suzuya's weapon. A few of the other destroyers then went up to the Wo-class' prone body and beat her with their guns just to make sure that she wouldn't get back up again.

That left only the Princess herself. The Central Princess was an unassuming figure with a lithe frame and white skin, and she had two small horns poking out from beneath her snowy hair. Black tears of oil dripped from her crimson eyes, and her body was lined with perforations and holes inside of which pulsating red energy could be seen. Unlike her subordinates, she carried no weapons.

"Your time is up, scum!" Kiso declared, brandishing her sword. "Any final words?"

The Central Princess tilted her head curiously. "So… These are the ship girls…"

"Stay away from her. The oil inside her body could leak out if you get too close," Sendai cautioned.

"Then how are we supposed to kill her?" Shigure asked with a frustrated frown. "I doubt weapons are going to do anything. Look."

Before anyone could stop her, Shigure unloaded her clip into the Central Princess. The bullets bounced harmlessly off her armor, and the Princess' sorrowful expression didn't change at all even as she was pelted with the projectiles.

"If that won't work, then try this!" Kiso shouted, lunging at the Abyssal and driving the point of her sword forward.

To everyone's surprise, the Princess didn't even try to dodge and just let the cutlass impale her. However, the Princess' face again did not change, and when Kiso pulled her sword back out, she found that the part that had been inside the Princess had melted away.

"Aw, not my cutlass!" Kiso whined.

"Calm down, they'll make you a new one," Suzuya shook her head. "Either way, it doesn't look like our traditional weapons are going to work on this bitch. Maybe we need a naval cannon after all?"

Sendai rubbed her chin. "Maybe. Can we contact Zuikaku?"

As the ship girls debated the best course of action, the Central Princess merely stared at them, her black tears continuing to flow. "So lively… The ship girls."

"Sorry I'm late," a familiar voice then called out, and the ship girls turned to see Shoukaku arrive. She looked banged up, but she was still on her feet, which was good.

"Shoukaku!" Murasame smiled in relief.

Shoukaku gave a nod of greeting to the destroyer before fixing her hard stare towards the Abyssal. "So you're the Central Princess."

The Princess let out a moan of despair. "Tell me, do you not hear them?"

"... What?" Kashima asked as she, Akagi, and Yahagi also rejoined the main group.

"The screams and wails of the dead and dying," the Princess continued. "If you were sunk in battle during the War… Then you know how they sound. Tell me, do you not hear them?"

Before any of the ship girls could respond, they heard a hissing noise followed by a burst of light. A projectile came shooting towards them at great speed, landing in the midst of their pack and then exploding.

"Argh! It's one of those fucking rocket launchers!" Sendai cried out as she dove into the dirt. Her nimbleness and night vision allowed her to get the jump on the RPG attack.

"It's those SEAL bastards," Shigure snarled from where she lay next to Sendai. Evidently she had also been able to avoid the blow. "Don't think I forgot your scent…"

Shoukaku groaned as she sat up, her head aching. "Not another explosion…"

"Incoming!" someone called out, and another RPG shot flew towards the ship girls.

They dove to avoid it again, but just then, the Princess opened her mouth and her pores flapped open as well. Black liquid came spilling out of all the holes, and the tears of oil leaking from her eyes turned into black streams.

"Damn! Avoid the oil!" Shiranui warned, firing with her MP7 at where she thought the RPG shots were coming from as she sprinted away from the oil's path.

The other ship girls also jumped into the foliage in order to dodge the dangerous oil river as it moved over to the Wo-class corpse and consumed it as it did to the two Chi-classes.

"Sendai, hold off the Princess, but leave some for me when I get back," Shigure said, stepping out of the plants once the oil had passed their position.

"Wait, Shigure!" Sendai called out, but the destroyer was already off.

 _I can smell their stench._ Shigure's blue eyes narrowed dangerously as she bared her fangs in another scowl. She completely ran past the Central Princess and went over to the far end of the dome, where she saw the four other SEALs. One of them was busy handing another rocket to the one holding the RPG, but the other two saw Shigure and raised their weapons.

"Die traitors!" Shigure yelled as she raised her own submachine gun and squeezed the trigger.

The bullets from the SEALs tore into Shigure's new uniform and poked some holes in it, but aside from some bleeding, it didn't affect Shigure herself much. _Her_ shots, however, hit the SEAL square on, making him dance like a marionette before he fell to the ground, dead. The other SEAL who had been shooting at Shigure evidently realized that her weapon couldn't hurt the ship girl, so she combat rolled into plant and took cover.

"Eat this, Jap bitch!" the SEAL who had been helping reload the RPG said as he tossed a flashbang in Shigure's direction.

The grenade went off and stunned Shigure, whitening her vision and making her head and ears ring as if she had been hit with a hammer.

 _But I've still got your scent…_

To the SEAL's surprise, Shigure leapt towards him anyway, pushing him onto the ground. She lifted her SMG and tried to fire, but it clicked empty. Shigure tossed her gun away and glared at the man as her vision returned. Her wide, rage-filled blue eyes even gave the trained SEAL pause, and he didn't have much time to recover. With a feral growl, Shigure bit into the SEAL's throat and tore out a chunk of flesh, cutting open his jugular and spraying blood all over herself. She spit out the flesh and then turned to the SEAL with the RPG, only her bright blue eyes and white teeth visible on her face stained dark red with blood.

She leapt at him too, but before she could get her claws on him, something hard hit her in the stomach and knocked the wind out of her. She fell back onto the dirt and managed to glimpse the female SEAL holding a grenade launcher emerging from her hiding spot.

"Hurry up and reload that thing!" the female SEAL called out to the male one.

Spitting out some blood, Shigure got to her feet. Her ribs felt sore and every breath drew a bit of pain along with it, but she wasn't about to lose here.

"Anyone who sides with the Abyssals… Deserves nothing but death!" Shigure seethed.

The destroyer rushed at the female SEAL, who got down on a knee and carefully aimed the grenade launcher, tracking Shigure's trajectory with trained precision. Fueled by pure hatred, Shigure ignored it and sprinted towards the SEAL. A bead of sweat trailed down the SEAL's forehead as she tried to concentrate on her aim in spite of the fact that a blood-soaked hellhound in the shape of a young girl was rushing towards her, but at the last moment, Shigure suddenly made a sharp turn, diverting course.

Instead of launching herself at the female SEAL, Shigure turned to the one with the RPG. The male SEAL had finished reloading by now and already had his RPG prepped to fire, but Shigure's sudden switch of targets from his partner to him made him falter, and in a reflex, he fired the RPG at Shigure. However, Shigure anticipated this and juked to the side. The shot from the rocket launcher continued onwards and exploded behind Shigure's old position, the danger-close impact stunning the female SEAL and throwing her backwards.

With the SEAL with the grenade launcher temporarily out of the way and the RPG having fired its shot, Shigure leapt at the male SEAL with a wild grin. Fear flashed across his face as Shigure pushed him to the ground and crashed her forehead into his. As he lay there in a daze, Shigure smashed her fist through his chestplate and into his body cavity, painting herself red with even more blood.

Wasting no time, Shigure immediately got off the dead man and ran over to the last SEAL, who was still trying to get to her feet following the RPG explosion. With a sadistic smile, Shigure undid her red necktie and walked up behind the SEAL. She wrapped her tie around the SEAL's neck, using it as a garrote. The SEAL gasped for air and blindly tried to reach for Shigure, but the destroyer's strength was too much for her.

"Yes… Let me hear your dying gasps," Shigure hissed gleefully into the SEAL's ear. "Listen well, you cunt. The Abyssals are my enemy, and you have pissed me off for making me have to waste time killing you before I can get to them. You're lucky I'm in a hurry right now, or else your death would be much harder."

Soon enough, the SEAL's body slackened and Shigure let go of the necktie. Just to make sure, she crushed the human's windpipe with her foot before moving off to return to the rest of the ship girls who were fighting the Central Princess.

"Oi, Abyssal bitch," Shigure called out from behind the Princess.

The Central Princess was still leaking oil and emitting a red glow, looking to appear unharmed even as the fleet continued to fire on her with their small arms. The Abyssal turned slightly as Shigure approached.

"Your SEAL pawns are dead," Shigure smirked at her. "You're next, so prepare yourself."

"Oh… They're dead…" the Princess muttered. "It… Doesn't matter. The experiment is complete."

The red glow surrounding the Princess suddenly grew in size and temperature, and it expanded outwards with the sound of a thunderclap. Even Shigure was thrown to the ground by this, and when she recovered and stood back up, the Central Princess had disappeared. A ghostly image of a demonic-looking figure wearing a mask and holding a traditional Japanese fan with skeleton-like hands flashed before the fleet before it too faded.

"What the - she ran away?!" Shigure said bitterly. _And what was that image just now…?_

" _All right, I can provide that support you requested for now,"_ Zuikaku spoke through the comms. " _That annoying beast finally stopped harassing us, but it's going to take us a few minutes to get in position."_

"Negative, Zuikaku. It's not necessary anymore. The Princess has fled," Shoukaku informed her sister.

" _What? Did we win?"_

"Urgh!" Shigure grunted in frustration as she kicked the dirt angrily. At the very least, Shigure's answer to that question was obvious.

"Well… We did take out the Abyssals and the SEALs who betrayed us, so we at least accomplished something," Shoukaku replied. "We also gained some valuable information on the Central Princess and her abilities. I think it's time we called in for exfil."

" _Roger that. Then we'll leave the river too,"_ Zuikaku acknowledged.

Since their Australian coordinators were dead, Shoukaku had to contact their mission command herself and explain the situation. The staff back at headquarters in Sydney were more than a little shocked at the developments, but they were still professionals, and they quickly and efficiently dispatched the helicopters to carry the fleet back. They also said that they would be sending a team down to deal with the aftermath of the situation, as the citizens of Brisbane had inevitably heard or seen the explosions coming from the Botanical Gardens or the river itself.

After she finished with her call, Shoukaku surveyed the fleet. They were all busy chatting with each other about the mission, and it appeared that no one was seriously hurt. They were a few of them (like herself) who had burns and scrapes and cuts, but those injuries could be stemmed by their internal Fairies and would be completely healed once they received actual medical treatment. All in all, the fleet did not suffer any significant casualties, which was a relief.

Shoukaku glanced up at the night sky. The skyline of Brisbane emitted light pollution that obscured some of the wintertime stars, but it was still a beautiful sight nonetheless.

 _This was our first mission without the Admiral,_ she realized. It had been almost five months since Rear Admiral Drake left the naval base, and she hadn't heard from him since. She still had his number on her phone, but he never contacted her or anyone else in the fleet, and so she didn't know if they were even allowed to communicate anymore, especially given the fact that only a few people were even involved in the Kancolle program in the first place.

He had promised that he would come back and fight with them again, but with every day that passed, her doubt grew. At this point it seemed very unlikely, and maybe it was even possible that Admiral Drake was no longer in the navy. She knew that he had a rough career in terms of the things he saw and the things he lost, and she almost couldn't blame him for wanting to quit… 'Almost' being the key word. Every time she thought about him, a small spike of anger flared up in the back of her mind, even though she tried to repress it. Although she understood why he would want to quit, she also felt like accusing him: "Don't you have unfinished business here?"

Regardless, there was nothing she could do about that now. All that mattered in the present was that the fleet had (more or less) successfully completed their first mission since the failure of the Battle of Okinawa.

Even if they no longer had Admiral Drake, they could still win.


	46. Winds of the Mountains IV

Four figures stepped out of a sleek black Mercedes-Benz as it came to a stop in front of a small, snowy village. All of them were dressed identically, and they wore long, gray military coats, black boots and gloves, and the standard military hat issued to German military officers. The man who had gotten out of the passenger's seat tipped his hat to the driver, who nodded and drove off into the village.

Obergruppenfuhrer Mann smiled cordially at the other three. "Ah, the smell of the crisp, winter air in the Alps. It is truly a wonderful experience, so make sure you cherish it."

He then began walking towards the village, his face filled with cheer even as his cold blue eyes remained icy.

"Have you been here before, Strauss?" one of the men asked another as he glanced up at the mountains that surrounded the town.

Strauss, a tall man with close-cropped blond hair, piercing blue eyes, and a strong chin shook his head. "I doubt I could even afford coming here. You're saying you've been here, Pachelbel?"

Pachelbel nodded with a reminiscent smile. He had blue eyes as well, though he had messy brown hair underneath his military cap. "Once, with my parents when I was younger. But what are you saying about not being able to afford this! You're an officer in the Reichspolizei."

Strauss shrugged. "Perhaps, though I would still prefer to be frugal. No one knows what may happen in the future."

"Ah, you're the same as ever," Pachelbel shook his head. "I thought you might loosen up after your reassignment to Berlin, but it seems city life taught you nothing. But here's some advice: you'd better live your life now, because things are only going to get more expensive when you mature. Look at me; if I ever came here again, I'd have to pay for my wife and two kids!"

"But surely their company would be well worth the cost," Strauss said, smiling a bit at Pachelbel's enthusiastic reply.

"Yeah, yeah. Of course you'd say something sensible like that," Pachelbel sighed in defeat. He then turned to the fourth and final member of the group, who had been quiet the whole time. "What about you? I assume you've never been to a place like this."

"M-Me? No," Bismarck answered. "I've just been on naval bases until I transferred to Lubeck…"

"That makes sense, I suppose," Pachelbel said. "Well, then, all the more reason to enjoy your trip here, right?"

"Don't forget that we're here on business. This is not a vacation," Strauss pointed out.

"Thanks, I'm aware of that," Pachelbel rolled his eyes.

"But still, the town of Andermatt is a wonderful place," Mann suddenly cut in, turning around. "There is also a very nice hotel here. I hear it is one of the best in Switzerland these days."

"Oh? Is that where we will be staying?" Pachelbel asked humorously.

"Haha! Only in your dreams, my friend," Mann chuckled. "We will be leaving tonight anyway, so we won't get the opportunity to spend the night if all goes smoothly."

"Do we know where the insurgents are located, Obergruppenfuhrer?" Strauss then questioned.

"Hm… Not yet, unfortunately," Mann replied. "But we will be meeting up with our contact at the beer hall in the center of town. She should hopefully have some information for us. However, we are bit early, so feel free to take a leisurely walk around town. Just meet back up at this spot in an hour and a half, all right?"

"Won't the enemy know we are here if we do that?" Strauss cautioned.

Mann wore his mysterious smile again. "They already know we are here, so it doesn't matter. However, I have assurances from our contact that they plan on proceeding with their meeting regardless. They know we are in the village, but they do not know that we also know their identities and location. Of course, I also had our driver and the Swiss authorities place checkpoints on all routes out of the town, so they will be stopped and arrested if they try to flee."

Bismarck noticed that one thing which had not changed since World War II was that Germany still had a large amount of influence on the European continent. With its mighty military and its economic influence, Germany was at the forefront of European affairs along with Britain, France, and Italy, and therefore Obergruppenfuhrer Mann was easily able to get the Swiss authorities' cooperation on this matter.

"Well, if that's the case, then we might as well take advantage of this opportunity," Pachelbel decided. "Will you be joining us, Obergruppenfuhrer? I was thinking of perhaps visiting a cafe or something."

"Sadly I have some calls to make and a few other things to check up on, but you three should go ahead," Mann said. "Especially you, Bismarck. This is a good chance for you to experience life outside of the military, no?"

"Right, sir," Bismarck replied, a bit unsurely.

"Good. Then I'm off," Mann saluted briefly before strolling further into the town.

"Now then, where should we go?" Pachelbel glanced about the area. "Any ideas, Strauss?"

"You're the one who's been here before. Shouldn't you be our guide?" Strauss parried.

Pachelbel gave him a flat look. "Yes, but that was many years ago. I barely remember it."

"We could go to a cafe like you suggested. Or we could try and see if we can get into that hotel," Strauss then offered.

"The expensive one? Do you think they would let us wander the place if we asked?"

"I doubt they would refuse three Reichspolizei officers," Strauss replied.

"Hey, now, isn't that an abuse of power?" Pachelbel smirked. "I never thought you would suggest something like that, Strauss…"

Refusing to take the bait, Strauss shook his head. "It's not that big of a deal if we're just taking a look inside. But if it bothers you that much, then perhaps we should just go to a cafe after all."

Pachelbel smiled at Strauss' even reply. "All right, all right. What about you, Bismarck? Any place you would like to visit?"

"Um… I don't have any place in particular in mind, no," Bismarck answered.

"Right… How about we just walk around town a bit, then? If we see somewhere interesting, we can stop," Pachelbel ultimately decided. "Maybe we'll even run into the insurgents and we can take them down and gift them to the Obergruppenfuhrer. Wouldn't that be nice!"

Strauss merely sighed as he followed the chuckling Pachelbel into the town. Bismarck walked behind them, still remaining quiet. As a ship girl, she kind of felt like she was out of place here on this mission, but she supposed having her along did increase their strength significantly. Since she had arrived in Lubeck, she had been trained in the use of small arms, and she knew that she could tank a lot more bullets than a normal human could if things came down to a firefight.

As the group walked through the cobblestone streets of Andermatt, Bismarck took in the sights of the town. It was surrounded by a beautiful landscape of snowy mountains, and she could see why it was a popular tourist destination. The town itself was mainly composed of small shops and houses, though there were also some restaurants and inns catering to those tourists. She could see a white church in the distance, its clocktower blending in with the icy landscape.

Pachelbel and Strauss, who had been engaged in their own conversation, turned to Bismarck.

"You've been pretty quiet this whole time, Bismarck," Pachelbel noted. "I thought it was your sister who was the lonely one, not you."

"Huh? Oh, sorry. It's just that I'm not used to missions like this," Bismarck said.

"Come on, no need to be so guarded," Pachelbel grinned. "We're your fellow countrymen, no? Even if you are way older than us."

"It's rude to comment on a lady's age," Strauss chided Pachelbel with a small grin.

"Oh, sorry," Pachelbel apologized. "But really, it's so cool to be able to talk with an actual World War II battleship like this. My son plays this game called 'World of Warships' or something, and he always plays as the _Bismarck_. I showed him a picture of you and told him that I would be going on a mission with you soon, but he said you 'weren't as cool' as the actual warship, hah!"

"Is that so…" _That's the first time I've heard something like that..._

"Moving on," Strauss glared at Pachelbel, "I heard you were stationed in Japan before you came back to Germany, Bismarck. How was it? Like us, they have reinstated the emperor's line, so perhaps our two countries are more similar now."

"I can't say much about the country itself since I was only on the naval base, but the ship girls there were good comrades," Bismarck told them, fondly remembering her fleet. "They weren't as militant as I remember Japan being in World War II, but they still have that fighting spirit."

"Like the samurai _bushido_? That sounds respectable," Pachelbel nodded approvingly. "But wasn't your commander there an American? What was his name again…"

"Rear Admiral Richard Maximilian Drake, born in the state of Pennsylvania to parents Draupadi and Brady Drake in the summer of 1995. Attended high school in that same state, then joined the United States Navy before the Great Churning through the officer program at the University of California in the city of Los Angeles," Strauss reminded him with a stern look. "You're a Reichspolizei officer. Shouldn't you know this?"

"Right, right, it just slipped my mind," Pachelbel waved him off with an easy smile.

 _So they looked into his background too?_ Bismarck thought. She supposed it made sense given the function of the Reichspolizei as a military intelligence agency. But even she didn't know any of that information, and neither Pachelbel nor Strauss had ever met Drake before.

"The Americans made quite a fuss in order to get our government to loan you to their fleet in Japan," Pachelbel then said. "Called in quite a few favors with our superiors. Looks like they really wanted you over there, huh?"

"I don't know about that. The American fleet admiral at the London Headquarters told me that Warspite was their first choice and that they had to settle for me," Bismarck recalled bitterly.

"Oh, how rude of them!" Pachelbel chided.

"You were being fairly rude yourself just minutes ago…" Strauss sighed again.

"Anyway, if you've fought the Abyssals before, then this mission will be fairly easy," Pachelbel assured her as the group walked past a building with the red Swiss flag hanging from it.

Now feeling a bit more comfortable, Bismarck decided to ask her companions a few questions of her own. "Do you two know each other from beforehand? You seem quite familiar."

Pachelbel nodded. "Yes, I was actually Strauss' first commander when he joined the Reichspolizei. Ah, how nostalgic… I remember when you were just a simple farm boy, Strauss, and now look at you! You've almost caught up to me in rank!"

"I hoped to be _your_ superior by the next time I saw you, but it appears I fell short of that by a bit," Strauss teased.

"Hah. I bet you're planning on doing something ridiculous on this mission in order to impress the Obergruppenfuhrer, then," Pachelbel accused with a grin.

"Oh, please. I would never jeopardize the success of a mission like that," Strauss immediately denied. "Besides, wasn't it you who suggested we capture the insurgents early and hand them over to the Obergruppenfuhrer as a gift?"

"It was a joke!"

Bismarck watched them banter back and forth. _This is my first mission with the Reichspolizei, but these two are not how I expected the officers to be. Everyone back at the Lubeck base is so strict and professional, just as many of the SS were during the War. But Pachelbel and Strauss seem to be fairly comfortable and free even on a mission like this. Is it because they are old comrades?_

Once again, Bismarck felt that aching loneliness creep up on her. She was away from both her German ship girls as well as her fleet in Japan, and though she was being useful to her country like she always wanted to be, she did not feel happy. _I wonder if this is how Tirpitz felt…_

The group eventually decided to stop at a brown building that had a cafe on the ground floor. The building itself seemed to be some sort of hotel, though it didn't look that large or luxurious. The cafe was right out along the stone street, and since there weren't that many people walking around, there was a relaxing atmosphere to the setting.

"Well, Pachelbel, I assume you'll be treating us since you're the oldest," Strauss said as they sat down at a table.

"Why is it that it's only at times like these where you remember that I'm your senior," Pachelbel shook his head. "But since we're only going to order a few drinks, then I guess it's fine…"

Strauss patted him on the shoulder. "That's the spirit. I'll remember this and come visit you from time to time when you're in the retirement home."

"Oh, fuck you," Pachelbel shot back at him as the both of them grinned.

They ended up just ordering three coffees, and the trio sat around the table, enjoying the hot drinks in the cold, winter air of the Alps.

"Have you done any naval training since you got to Germany, Bismarck?" Pachelbel asked.

"I have been out to the bay a few times for sailing and target practice, but the officers there aren't used to working with a ship girl, so it's hard to find the right equipment to train with," Bismarck replied. "Most of the time I've just been at Reichspolizei headquarters…"

"What about your comrades? The others like Prinz Eugen and Graf Zeppelin," Strauss then asked.

"They are stationed elsewhere, so I don't know what they're up to," Bismarck admitted.

Pachelbel leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. "That seems strange that they would take a ship girl like you and stick her in the Reichspolizei. Of course, given your warship body, you're probably a better soldier than any of us in terms of physical capabilities, but I still think you would be better utilized on the sea."

Strauss agreed with that. "Yes, I believe your talents are being wasted here. It's unlikely that Lubeck will be attacked by Abyssals, but perhaps you should be on the frontlines elsewhere."

Bismarck looked down at her cup. "Yeah. It doesn't appear that our superiors think that way, though, so I don't have a choice."

"Even back when you were first sent to Japan, I heard there were many in the Reichstag who supported sending you there so you could gain some combat experience outside of just chasing away raiders," Strauss said. "It's strange that they have changed their opinion so drastically now."

"But you have to remember that the situation is different from it was back then," Pachelbel pointed out. "That was before the Battle of Okinawa. Now everyone wants their ship girls back in their own countries, and even the Grand European Fleet has all but been dissolved."

"You are right. It's short-sighted, but it's true," Strauss grunted in disappointment.

"People are scared, so it makes sense to have the ship girls return, at least for a while," Pachelbel countered. "My hope is that this is all just a political show and that International Fleet Command gets its act together soon. I'm not a naval commander, but even I can see that we have no chance of beating the Abyssals if we only care about protecting our own borders."

Pachelbel glanced at Bismarck. "What's wrong? You're staring at me with wide eyes. You don't agree?"

"N-No, that's not it," Bismarck hurriedly denied. "I was just surprised to hear you say something like that, that's all…"

"I agree. Pachelbel actually said something smart for once, which is out of character for him." Strauss couldn't help but throw in a quick jab with a small smirk.

"Oh, really? Interesting how being in the presence of a cute girl has suddenly turned you into a comedian, Strauss."

"W-Wha -!"

"So you've learned to attack, but can't take the counter, huh? You really are still a kid," Pachelbel grinned victoriously at Strauss. He then turned back to Bismarck. "I am curious as to why it's surprising, though. Have you been told the opposite by others?"

"I come from the Third Reich," Bismarck reminded them. "Back then, we saw Germany as the center of the world, and there was nothing more important than the Fatherland. The military police in my time, the Waffen-SS, were the most nationalistic out of all of us, which is why I found it strange that two officers of the Reichspolizei are putting humanity as a whole first. N-Not that it's a bad thing, of course!"

"Ah, that is interesting. Sometimes I forget you really are from a different era," Pachelbel smiled at her. "Yeah, I think it's fair to say that Germany and the world as a whole has grown more open to other cultures and peoples. Sure, the Great Churning was a nationalist movement and most governments nowadays are nominally nationalist, but the one good thing about the Abyssals was that they did help to bring humanity together."

"Yes, though I am afraid not everybody thinks like Pachelbel and I do," Strauss added. "There are still plenty in the Reichspolizei and Germany as a whole who would probably fit better with the Nazis than with us."

Pachelbel chuckled. "Well, we're no saints either. I've done some things that I'd rather not talk about, and I'm sure Strauss has too. But regardless, my goal in life is to make the world a better place for humanity as a whole, not just Germans. My contribution is going to be incredibly small, of course, but I can at least sleep at night if I keep that goal in mind."

"That's a nice goal to have. I like it," Bismarck nodded.

"The real surprising thing for me is you, Bismarck," Strauss then said. "You are quite literally a Nazi, but you don't act like one."

"I don't?"

"No. You're fairly tame for a Nazi, which I guess is a good thing," Pachelbel mused.

"Oh. I suppose it's because the Nazis were a political party, while I was just a machine of war," she said. "I fought for the Nazis, but… I didn't know about a lot of things they did. All I thought about was protecting Germany, and the Nazis were the ones who had built me and promised that they would make Germany strong. And they were right, for a while. But we all know how that ended."

"Sorry, I didn't mean to bring up bad memories," Strauss apologized.

Bismarck shook her head. "Don't worry about it. Anyway, my primary purpose is still to protect Germany, and I don't care if it's the Fuhrer or the Kaiser who's in charge. As long as there is a threat to my people, then I will fight."

"That's something I think we can all agree on," Pachelbel said.

The trio finished their drinks and began heading over to the beer hall they planned to meet back up with the Obergruppenfuhrer. When they arrived in front of the entrance, they saw Mann already there, his hands in his military coat's pockets as his icy eyes surveyed the city.

"Sorry for the wait, sir," Pachelbel greeted.

"Oh, no, you are just on time," Mann smiled at them. "Let's go in now."

The beer hall was not very big, but there were a lot of people there. Bismarck heard some English and a few other languages like French being spoken in the hall in addition to the standard German, so it appeared that there were quite a few tourists present. Mann led them to a small table in the corner where a woman with shoulder-length dark hair and green eyes was already seated, a tall ale resting in front of her.

"Good afternoon," Mann cheerily greeted her as he sat down at the table along with his subordinates.

The woman merely nodded. "Those uniforms are very conspicuous. It didn't occur to you to wear something else?"

Mann shrugged. "The uniforms look nice. What can I say?"

Ignoring Mann's non-answer, the woman took a quick scan of the room with her sharp jade eyes. "Everything is going according to schedule regardless. I assume you know what that means, so I really don't have much to say here."

"Yes, though I would appreciate it if you could explain things to my comrades. I have only told them the general outline so far," Mann requested.

Their conversation was put on hold as Mann ordered beers for the himself and the three other Reichspolizei. After the drinks were brought, the woman explained the situation to Bismarck, Pachelbel, and Strauss.

"I assume you know that you are here to hunt down a group of insurgents who have decided to rebel against the Kaiser," the woman started. "They are part of the Blutfreiheit Association, a terrorist organization that aims to overthrow the Kaiser and reinstate a democratic government. As you probably already know, Blutfreiheit is not beyond using violent means to achieve their goals, and they are responsible for a number of attacks and assassinations on personnel of the Fourth Reich."

Bismarck had actually never heard of this association before. _So there is still infighting like this going on even though we have to defeat the Abyssals…_

"They are here in Andermatt today because some of their leaders are holding a meeting to coordinate the moving of a large arms cache into Germany," the woman continued. "They know that you are here today, but they assume that it is because you are here to handle the extradition of the prisoners."

"What prisoners?" Pachelbel asked, confused.

"Oh, that is just some excuse I developed," Mann interjected. "A week ago, some of our agents came here dressed as tourists and started a bar fight with each other. This was done in coordination with a select few Swiss authorities, and as planned, the Swiss authorities arrested our agents and are holding them in a cell here in town. This was all done to give the Reichspolizei an excuse to come to Andermatt."

"Ah. A clever plan," Strauss remarked. "However, would it not have been simpler to just come here dressed as tourists too, then? Why go through the trouble of setting up that excuse in the first place?"

"It's easier for us this way," Mann said. "Blutfreiheit were not even in Andermatt last week, which is why it was easy for us to smuggle in some of our agents in the guise of tourists. But today Blutfreiheit will be very alert, and so if we had come here dressed as tourists, then they may have figured out our ruse and it would have all been over. However, now that we have the convenient excuse of picking up unruly German citizens, Blutfreiheit will not be as cautious because they know exactly why we are here and where we are. Ironically, now that they can see that us Reichspolizei are clearly in Andermatt and making no attempt to hide our presence, they will not expect us to move against them. That's also why I only brought a few agents today; normally, an operation like this would require far more than just a handful of Reichspolizei."

 _This plan is quite elaborate. The Obergruppenfuhrer is a thorough man,_ Bismarck thought.

"Yes. And the plan seems to be working so far because Blutfreiheit has made no indication that they are going to change their meeting time or place," the woman said. "They will be convening at a small wooden ski shack located near the back of town. Your commander knows the place, and their meeting should have already started."

"It's already begun? What are we still doing here, then?" Pachelbel was surprised.

"Well, we had to set our meeting with our contact to overlap with their own meeting. It would have been bad if someone from Blutfreiheit saw us talking like this," Mann told them. "Regardless, it would be good if we got moving now. There are still only seven of them present at the meeting, correct?"

The woman nodded. "Seven, all armed."

"That's more than double our number, but we have the advantage of surprise," Mann said as he stood up. "And we have our secret weapon too."

"I won't disappoint you, sir," Bismarck firmly replied, though she couldn't help but feel slightly nervous. She began to grow more conscious of the P7 pistol underneath her coat as the time of the operation drew closer and closer.

The Reichspolizei left the beer hall and began walking towards their final destination. Bismarck had never done an operation like this before, and though she knew that there was no way that seven humans would ever be as much of a threat as even the weakest Abyssal, she still felt apprehensive. Perhaps it was because she thought she would have to do something amazing to impress the Obergruppenfuhrer. He obviously had high expectations of her.

When they were close enough to see the small shack in the distance, Mann suddenly stopped.

"My apologies, but this is where I take my leave," he said. "An old man like me will only drag you down if it comes to a gunfight, so I will head elsewhere; there is something important I need to make sure of. But to replace me, we will have him take my spot."

Mann gestured in the direction of a man with a suit, sunglasses, and slicked back black hair who had appeared next to the group. Bismarck did not notice him approach them at all, and from the looks of surprise on Strauss' and Pachelbel's faces, they didn't either. But still, she did recognize him as Mendelssohn, their driver. He had said even less than Bismarck had during the ride over to Andermatt so she didn't know much about him, but if Mann trusted him, then he must be competent enough.

"Well, then, good luck," Mann gave the group one last smile. "If something goes wrong, please contact me. Otherwise, we will meet back up in front of the beer hall afterwards. See you soon."

Pachelbel frowned as Mann walked away. "Hm, the Obergruppenfuhrer would be a bit slower than us, but his accuracy with a pistol is still top-notch. Either way, he must really have something important to do if he's leaving this to us."

"Perhaps he expects Bismarck to simply mow down the enemies herself," Strauss posited.

"I think your expectations might be too high…" Bismarck replied.

"Eh, doesn't matter now, I guess. Let's get going," Pachelbel decided. "Remember, our orders are to him them in non-fatal spots or get them to surrender if we can, but we are allowed to kill them if necessary."

With that in mind, the four Reichspolizei slowly moved towards the shack. It was in an isolated position on the side of a snowy hill on the outskirts of town, and Blutfreiheit had posted no sentries.

Pachelbel pulled out his P7 handgun, and the others followed suit. "Okay… Bismarck, can you take point? You're the most durable out of all of us."

The battleship nodded. "Right. I'll begin our advance, then."

With Bismarck leading the way, the group got closer and closer to the door. The shack did have a few windows, but the view was blocked by some drapes, probably to prevent anyone from getting a look inside the illegal meeting.

 _All right. Now to breach._ With one hand holding her pistol, Bismarck reached over to the doorknob to see if it was unlocked. If it was, then it would be a lot easier for them to break in and catch them by surprise.

Her gloved hand hovered over the doorknob, and she took a breath. _Okay. I'm -_

The door swung open, hitting Bismarck in the face. Momentarily stunned, she was unable to avoid the hail of bullets that came blasting out from within the cabin. Sharp pain stung at her, and due to the sheer volume of ammunition that was slamming into her, Bismarck lost her balance and fell onto the snow. Her blood stained the white snow red, and she heard shouting and more gunshots even as her ears rang and her vision swam. _What… What happened?_

Bismarck moaned in pain as she tried to regain her bearings. Though her body was sharply aching from the many spots she had been hit with the bullets, the most they could do to her was tear open her skin and some of her muscle if they hit just right. This was not nearly enough to kill a ship girl, and Bismarck fought through the pain and stood back up.

She saw Strauss over on the other side of the cabin, taking cover behind the wall. Mendelssohn was sprinting over to the opposite side of the cabin from Strauss in order to split the enemy forces, his P7 firing at an insurgent and dashing the enemy's brains onto the snow. However, a stray bullet did manage to hit Mendelssohn before he ducked behind cover, though it only got him in the shoulder.

Lying on the snow a few meters away from Bismarck was Pachelbel. His chest was punctured with a line of red bullet holes, and his unblinking blue eyes stared up at the clear sky. His hat had fallen off his head, but his P7 remained clutched in his hand.

 _No… I failed,_ Bismarck lamented as she stared at Pachelbel's lifeless body.

"What the - How is she still alive?" one of the insurgents said, just now noticing that Bismarck was back on her feet.

He lifted his rifle and aimed it at Bismarck, but he was taken aback when she roared and charged at him.

"F-Fuck!" the man cursed, missing his shot as he was thrown off by Bismarck's assault.

Her sapphire eyes filled with fury, Bismarck grabbed the man by his collar, jerked him downwards, and smashed her knee into his chin. When he stumbled, Bismarck got hold of his arm and twisted it, breaking it and making him cry out. He fell to his knees when Bismarck let him go.

Gritting her teeth in regret, the ship girl pulled the P7 free of Pachelbel's grip and turned it on the kneeling insurgent. Without hesitation, she fired, putting a hole in the man's head and dropping him.

This wasn't the first time she had killed a human, of course, but it was the first time she had done so from so close, close enough where she could see the person's face. Nevertheless, the only emotions in Bismarck's mind right now were anger and disappointment in herself.

 _They trusted me to be their trump card, and yet I…_

The other Blutfreiheit members were closing in on Strauss and Mendelssohn, and there actually appeared to be more than seven of them. Given how little cover there was here, they would be overrun in seconds. However, these rebels had forgotten about Bismarck and left her for dead, and she would make them pay for their mistake.

Moving over to Strauss' side of the cabin, Bismarck shot an insurgent in the back twice, then turned her aim to another and hit him in the leg with two bullets. A huge amount of blood began spilling out of the wound as the insurgent cried out, indicating she had hit an artery.

The remaining two insurgents on this side now turned to face the new threat. The first one aimed and fired at Bismarck with her submachine gun, but Bismarck had read her line of sight and stepped out of the way. The ship girl shot at her and missed, but then quickly readjusted her aim and killed the rebel with a shot to the face. The final Blutfreiheit member had been shot dead by Strauss at the same time.

"We have to assist Mendelssohn," Strauss said urgently as he reloaded and began walking over to the other side of the cabin. "Go around from the front, Bismarck!"

The blonde battleship did just that and came up behind four insurgents, who were somehow being held off by Mendelssohn. The suited man was behind the other corner of the shack, occasionally peeking around it and shooting at the Blutfreiheit. Bismarck immediately downed one of them with a headshot, but that drew the attention of the others. Thankfully, Mendelssohn chose that moment to peek out again and shoot at them, forcing two of the rebels to keep their aim on him.

Bismarck aimed at another rebel, who was equipped with a pistol like she was. However, as she fired, the insurgent leapt out of the way and did a combat roll to avoid the shot. Narrowing her eyes in frustration, Bismarck took aim at his position again. However, her P7 clicked empty. The insurgent smiled and took that opportunity to shoot at Bismarck.

The shot bounced off her chest, mildly annoying her, but it didn't stop Bismarck from reaching into her pockets and pulling out another clip. She methodically reloaded her weapon, much to the shock of the insurgent.

"Impossible!" was the insurgent's last word as Bismarck put a bullet through his skull.

She then turned to face the remaining two Blutfreiheit members. By this time Strauss had joined Mendelssohn, and the two of them were keeping the insurgents at bay. Bismarck walked up behind the rebels, dropped her weapon, and grabbed the two unsuspecting enemies by their necks. She lifted the one in her right hand off the ground and smashed his head into the side of the cabin, splattering the wooden exterior with blood and bits of skull and brain matter.

With her right hand now free, Bismarck picked up the last remaining Blutfreiheit, a short woman, with both her hands. With a demonic scowl, Bismarck lifted the insurgent and snapped her spine over her knee. The insurgent let out a shrill scream before Bismarck broke her neck as well, ending her life.

Breathing heavily, Bismarck dropped the corpse. But the window to the cabin then smashed open from the inside, and one more Blutfreiheit member poked his assault rifle out the window and aimed at Bismarck.

 _Damn it! I'll kill you!_ Bismarck raged as she searched for the P7 she discarded.

However, that proved unnecessary, as Mendelssohn slid out from behind his cover and shot the insurgent in the head. The Blutfreiheit fell limp as he died on the windowsill.

"I will go check inside for any remaining hostiles," Mendelssohn said, dusting the snow off his suit. Despite his wound and having just come out of battle, his voice was even and emotionless.

Strauss came out from the other side of the cabin as well. He eyed the dead insurgent in the window. "I think that was the last of them."

Strauss then kicked at the snow in frustration. "Damn it! It was an ambush…"

A buzzing sound emerged from Strauss' coat, and he reached into his pocket to answer the call. "Hello? Obergruppenfuhrer?"

Bismarck was close enough to hear the voice on the other end. " _Strauss? Get out of there. It's an ambush."_

"Yes. We found that out the hard way, sir," Strauss replied. "All hostiles have been eliminated."

" _I see… Any casualties?"_

"... Pachelbel was killed in action."

" _That is a terrible tragedy. These gutter trash will pay,"_ Mann promised. " _I must apologize, for though I considered this outcome unlikely, I did think that it was possible, and so I preemptively went and prevented our contact from leaving Andermatt. Now that she is in our possession, we will interrogate her and find out how and why this happened. Strauss, return with Bismarck to the beer hall. Mendelssohn will make sure that Pachelbel's body is taken back to Germany."_

"Yes, sir."

He hung up the phone and turned to Bismarck. "The Obergruppenfuhrer has ordered us to return to the beer hall, and he says they have our contact, who set us up, in custody. Let's go."

Bismarck nodded as the adrenaline wore off. She took one last glance at Pachelbel's frozen eyes as he lay there in the snow, then followed after Strauss.

When they arrived at the beer hall, Obergruppenfuhrer Mann was standing out in front, awaiting them. He turned his gaze towards Bismarck first.

"Did you walk through town like that?"

Bismarck followed his eyes and looked down at her torso. Bloody bullet holes had been punctured through her military coat, and though it looked bad, she didn't feel that much pain anymore aside from a slight stinging sensation near her wounds. The Fairies in her body had also already stopped the bleeding.

"Well… If you are all right, then I suppose that is the important thing," Mann said, eyeing her curiously. "I assume you are not injured, Strauss?"

"No, sir. Please allow me to deal with the interrogations," he replied, trying to restrain his rage.

Mann's cold eyes twinkled in amusement. "As you wish. But take Bismarck with you."

"Bismarck? But shouldn't she get her injuries treated?"

"Ship girls are much better at healing than humans are, and even gunshot wounds are minor to them," Mann informed him as he turned back to Bismarck. "But still, this is my first time seeing such a thing in person… What a truly wondrous weapon…"

Strauss cleared his throat. "Obergruppenfuhrer, the location of the insurgents?"

"They are being held in the basement of that gift shop over there by some of our agents," Mann pointed across the street. "The woman who we met today along with two of her conspirators will be there. Get out of them how they knew about our plan, and why they decided to betray us. Also figure out where the actual meeting is taking place."

"Yes, sir."

Slightly apprehensively, Bismarck followed Strauss to the gift shop. She didn't know why she would be needed if they were going to interrogate prisoners, and she was still trying to get over the suddenness of the way the plan went wrong. Nevertheless, she dutifully trailed behind Strauss as a Reichspolizei who wasn't in uniform led them down the stairs into the basement. There, she saw the black-haired woman from earlier tied to a chair, along with two other men who were bound as well.

"I'll be taking it from here," Strauss said to the Reichspolizei who was standing guard by the prisoners.

The officer nodded to Strauss and made way for him. Bismarck hadn't been given any specific orders aside from following Strauss, so she just stood in the back with the other Reichspolizei officer.

The woman who they had met earlier looked up at Strauss. A wry smile made it to her face. "So you managed to survive, eh? Well, some of you did, at least."

Strauss smashed the back of his fist into her cheek, sending a glob of blood flying from her mouth.

"Tell me where the real meeting is taking place," he demanded in a dark tone.

With her lip bleeding, the woman scowled at him. "Go to hell, imperial scum."

Strauss punched her, breaking her nose. "I won't ask you so nicely again. Tell me."

"Eheh… Hehehe," the woman laughed weakly. "Look at you. You're no better than the Nazis. Is this really the state of our country now? The Abyssals have made Germany crazy, and we have turned a blind eye to the death of democracy because of them. I will gladly die to defy power-hungry fools like the Kaiser and bootlickers like you."

Pulling out his combat knife, Strauss stepped away from the woman. He went over to one of the men, and dragged the man and his chair in front of the woman.

"Tell me everything or I will gouge this man's eyes out, cut his ears and nose off, and then slit his throat," Strauss threatened.

The man's eyes bulged in fear. "W-Wait, what?! No!"

"You're free to tell me as well. I will spare you some pain if you do so," Strauss said to the man.

"B-But I don't know! Only she does!"

Strauss shrugged. "Then it's a shame for you."

The knife was then jammed into the man's eye, eliciting an inhuman shriek. Strauss then proceeded to dig his knife deeper and began moving it in a circle motion, his face calm and his blue eyes hard as steel.

An uneasy feeling churned in Bismarck's stomach as she watched from the back, and when the bloody eyeball was finally gouged out and hit the ground with a squelch amidst the man's tortured wails, she finally had enough and quickly headed back up the stairs. Without looking back, she slammed open the door to the gift shop and took a deep breath of the cold, alpine air. She screwed her eyes shut as she tried to rid her mind of the screaming. It couldn't be heard from out here, so the Reichspolizei had evidently chosen this place with that in mind.

"Taking a break, I see?"

She flashed her eyes back open and straightened herself out as Obergruppenfuhrer Mann approached. In spite of the situation, he still had that strange, affected smile on his face.

"I don't think there is much left for me to do down there, sir," Bismarck said.

Mann nodded. "Fine, if you say so. I thought you might be interested in learning some interrogation techniques, but I suppose it's not strictly necessary. Care for some?"

He held out a bar of Toblerone chocolate, but Bismarck was in no mood to eat anything right now. She shook her head.

"... So what did you think of your first mission?" Mann then asked.

Bismarck didn't know how to answer that. "Um, I… It was…"

Mann chuckled. "I see. But regardless, you did exceptionally well for your first time on an operation like this. Ship girls truly are marvelous, especially in terms of their durability. Any regular officer would have been dead if they took the same amount of fire that you did, yet you are perfectly healthy."

"Yes. The enemy was not too difficult to defeat," Bismarck replied. _Though I still let an ally die…_

"I think you can be a valuable asset to us, Bismarck," Mann told her. "If you continue your work with the Reichspolizei, no insurgency or rebel group or terrorist organization can ever stand up to us. Good people like Pachelbel will no longer have to die."

"But… I am a ship girl," she stated. "I belong on the water, fighting Abyssals. I shouldn't be doing this, sir…"

"Oh, that doesn't matter," Mann waved her off. "Of course, if you are needed to defend Germany from Abyssals, then that's where you will be sent. But for now, it doesn't appear that we are in any danger from them, no?"

"Okinawa was recently taken. The Abyssals are still strong," Bismarck argued.

"What's done is done, and that is across the world from us anyway," Mann shook his head. "Really, Bismarck. Have you not had enough of doing the bidding of the Americans and the Japanese? You were built by Germans and for Germans, were you not?"

 _That's true, but…_ Bismarck couldn't just abandon those she fought with.

She wore a resolute look as she faced her commander. "Sir. My duty is to protect humanity from the Abyssals, and that is what I will do. If I can't save Japan or any other country, then how can I be trusted to protect Germany? I'm sorry, but that is my purpose for existing. The Third Reich's greatest battleship will not abandon the fight after one defeat."

A brief silence followed, and Bismarck grew more and more tense as the seconds passed. _Did I offend him?_

Finally, Mann let out a small sigh. "So that is your viewpoint? It is much different from what I expected from a Nazi warship. But it is a noble cause nonetheless, I suppose. We will see where your future will lead you, battleship Bismarck."

The Obergruppenfuhrer walked away, leaving Bismarck by herself in front of the gift shop.

 _Right… I don't know what will happen in the future, but… In this life, this time, I won't run away. That I am sure of._


	47. Fate's Hand I

_A/N: Sorry for the long wait. I will try and get the next chapter out much sooner._

* * *

"You called for me, sir?" Drake asked as he stepped into Fleet Admiral Van Dyke's office at the Alaska base.

The bearded man looked up from his paperwork. "Yes. Take a seat."

Drake did so and waited for the fleet admiral to finish writing. A minute passed before Van Dyke looked up at him again.

"How has your time on this base been, Rear Admiral?" Van Dyke asked.

"It's been fine, sir," Drake replied, then continued. "But I think I would be of more use on the battlefield."

"Oh? So you're not afraid?"

"Sir. It's been several months now since I've been assigned to this base," Drake said firmly, knowing what Van Dyke was getting at. "You told me that this would only be temporary, and that I would be able to return to my post in Japan eventually. I think I'm ready now."

Van Dyke smirked at him. "You don't get to make that decision, Rear Admiral. And what makes you think you're ready to go back now?"

Drake's dark eyes were unrelenting. "The whole time I've been here, I've been training with you and the ship girls. Don't you think my skills have improved?"

"Well, I never really had a problem with your skills to begin with," Van Dyke admitted. "That is not the issue. And though you're acting confident right now, I wonder if you will be saying the same thing when you're actually on the battlefield."

Before Drake could respond, Van Dyke switched course.

"But that's not why I called you here," he told Drake. "I'm sending you on a brief mission out of the base."

"A mission?"

"Yes, but it's not a combat mission," Van Dyke added, quickly shooting down his hopes. "I need you to go to Germany to represent the United States at the logistics meeting for this month."

 _Seriously?_ Though the monthly INFCOM logistics meeting sounded like it was a big deal, it was actually fairly meaningless. The real logistics and supply work had already been done earlier in the month, and the meeting was just there to repeat and summarize the resource costs and purchases. There was no actual decision making or changing done there, so most countries just sent lower ranking officers to represent them.

"Why am I being sent there, sir?" Drake asked, not liking this assignment very much.

"Why not? Aren't you bored of sitting around here in Alaska?" Van Dyke pointed out.

"But…"

Van Dyke scratched his beard idly. "Come on, don't you have friends in Germany? That ship girl, Bismarck, right?"

 _Bismarck?_ Drake had almost forgotten she was supposed to be in Germany right now. Would she even be stationed where he was being sent? He doubted she would be at an inconsequential meeting like this.

"Don't you remember her?" Van Dyke pressed. "She even tried to attack me after I flipped you over that day. I think she really liked you."

"Yeah… I haven't seen her in a while, though," Drake said forlornly.

"Wasn't she the one who sunk the European Princess?" Van Dyke asked.

"Technically our DDGs sunk her, but yes, they wouldn't have been able to do so without Bismarck," Drake replied.

"Hm… Was this Bismarck your secretary ship after you lost Kaga? She was alone with you when I saw you at the base," Van Dyke then questioned.

"No, I didn't set a new secretary ship."

"Why not?"

Drake didn't respond. He didn't know how to.

"You don't like her?" Van Dyke asked after Drake didn't answer.

"No, that's not it…"

"Then you do like her?"

Drake frowned, unsure of why Van Dyke was asking these types of questions. That was very uncharacteristic of the older admiral. "I guess I like her, yes. What do you mean, sir?"

Van Dyke leaned back in his chair with a mysterious look in his eye. "Nothing in particular. Don't you want to see her again?"

"Is she going to be there in Germany?" Drake immediately wanted to know. _I can't get back to my fleet right now, but if I can at least see Bismarck…_

"There's a good chance that she might be," Van Dyke offered. "You can see her again if you go."

Drake nodded. "I understand. I will go, then."

"Good. I will let you know the specifics later on, but expect to leave this week," Van Dyke said. "Also, while you're gone, the ship girls here will be undergoing a remodel procedure."

"A remodel?" Drake repeated. "What sort of remodel?"

"The Japanese call it the _Kai Ni_ program," Van Dyke told him. "Apparently some engineers in Tokyo drew up blueprints to enhance the capabilities of their ship girls. They shared the information with us, so we're going to be remodeling our own ship girls now too."

"Really? I know we are allies with Japan, but I'm surprised they gave us that information so easily. Did they ask for anything in return? And how did the engineers figure out the remodel process by themselves? I thought humans didn't know a lot about the biology of ship girls," Drake said.

Van Dyke put out his cigarette. "Those are all good questions. Do you know how our engineers even know how to repair the equipment and uniforms of ship girls in the first place?"

Drake thought back. "... I heard it had something to do with the Fairies? I wasn't told much about it, even when I first joined the Kancolle program. I don't know how microscopic beings within the bodies of the ship girls could possibly communicate so easily with humans, but…"

"You're on the right track, I'll tell you that much," Van Dyke smiled slightly. "Anyway, that information is classified for now, so that will be all. You're dismissed."

Drake saluted and left the room, and Van Dyke remained in his chair as he kicked his feet up on the desk.

 _I do wonder how Bismarck managed to hold off a Princess by herself for so long,_ Van Dyke thought. _She did have help from another battleship for a brief period of time according to the reports, but it looks like the tide of the fight only turned when Admiral Drake started helping her. He's a good commander, but not good enough to inject that much stamina and power into a ship girl who was on the brink of collapse… If the Council's findings are correct, then I may be onto something here…_

* * *

Drake got off the train at the station in Lubeck, Germany. He was by himself, and he was wearing a long, dark blue military coat to cope with the northern temperature.

 _This is a bit more gothic than I imagined Germany to be,_ he thought. This was his first time in the country. _Guess I should head to the meeting place first. They're supposed to have my accomodations for me there._

As he walked through the city, occasionally looking at his phone to help him with directions, he noticed that he was glancing about at the people who passed by. _I'm not just going to see her walking the streets… Why am I so jittery?_

He supposed some of that could be explained by the fact that he and Bismarck had not exactly left each other on good terms. Would she even want to see him? How should he act when he meets her again? Should he pretend like nothing ever happened? No, that would make no sense…

As Drake was distracted by these thoughts, he didn't notice his phone ringing. When he finally saw it, he hurriedly answered after looking at the caller ID.

"Yes, hello, sir?"

" _Rear Admiral. Have you made it to Lubeck all right?"_ Van Dyke asked.

"Yes, sir. I am heading to the Reichspolizei headquarters now."

" _Good. Well, things are good here in Alaska too, though it's the same as ever. Bring Iowa back a souvenir or something, will you? She's been pestering me nonstop about how she didn't get to go to Germany with you."_

"Understood."

" _Aside from that, there is one more thing I wanted to ask you, just out of curiosity. You're not too busy right now, are you?"_

"No, sir," Drake answered, unsure of what Van Dyke wanted.

" _Then I've got a question for you,"_ the fleet admiral started. " _Which do you think is a better soldier: the one who completes all his missions successfully but ends up with many battle scars, or the one who completes all his missions and comes out without a scratch?"_

Drake wasn't sure why Van Dyke was asking him this, but he supposed he had to answer anyway. "The one who comes out without a scratch, assuming that they both took on the same missions, of course. If he never got a scratch on him, then that means that he's more skilled than the soldier who took damage every mission."

" _I see. Then let's say you're the general. You need to complete a very difficult mission, harder than any of the ones that came before, and you can assign it either to the soldier who has the scars or the one who has a spotless record. I assume you'd give it to the one who took no damage?"_

"Yes. Since he's never been injured despite taking on the same types of missions as the other soldier, he would be the more reliable pick." Drake felt like this was some sort of trick question, but his logic made sense to him, so he saw no reason to go with a different answer.

" _Hm… Well, I'd disagree with you,"_ Van Dyke countered. " _I'll admit, the spotless soldier is undoubtedly more skilled than the scarred one. However, you failed to take into account experience."_

"But… Both soldiers went on the same missions. They have the same exact experience, but my soldier just did it better," Drake argued.

" _That's not the experience I'm talking about. Remember that this new mission is harder than all the ones that came before it. What if your spotless soldier gets injured on this mission? Yes, he's more skilled than the other soldier when it comes to completing missions, but which soldier is more skilled in dealing with adversity? The scarred soldier still managed to complete all the missions despite his injuries, but this is the first time that your soldier is ever being hurt on a mission. How will he react to it? Can he complete the mission while being injured?"_

"Yes, but if even the spotless soldier gets injured, then the other one will definitely be injured or worse on this mission," Drake pointed out, though he had to admit that he didn't look at the question from this angle.

" _Of course. But remember, he's been injured many times before. And guess what? He's had the chance to practice how to deal with injuries many times before on much easier missions. The spotless soldier, however, is just now learning that. It's like teaching a kid how to ride a bike but taking his training wheels off for the first time on the highest hill you can find."_

Drake was silent. He couldn't think of a comeback to that at the moment.

" _But anyway, there is no right answer to this question,"_ Van Dyke admitted. " _It's entirely possible that the scarred soldier just ends up dying because the mission is too hard for him… But it's also possible that the spotless soldier can't deal with this adversity, and that he's the one who dies instead. The scarred soldier is going to come out banged up like never before, but he's still going to come out."_

"I see. I didn't think of it like that," Drake conceded.

" _I was just curious to hear your answer. Don't think too much of it,"_ Van Dyke finished dismissively. " _All right, good luck with the meeting."_

Van Dyke hung up, and Drake stared at his phone. _I know he said not to think too much of it, but why would he just randomly ask me about that? Is he really that bored sitting there in that frozen wasteland? Or was that some sort of test? I hope it wasn't…_

Either way, it didn't matter now. Putting that to the back of his mind, Drake walked through the streets of Lubeck until he reached the Reichspolizei HQ building. Red banners adorned with the iron cross hung from the bannisters, clearly demarcating the building from the surrounding structures.

 _Looks fearsome,_ Drake observed. Snow had begun falling from the sky as he walked up to the building. There were armed guards in overcoats standing by the doorways, but they made no move to stop Drake as he entered.

 _Hm, it's a pretty building, at least,_ he thought as he entered the lobby. The space was bustling with activity, and it seemed like a lot of the INFCOM representatives were also arriving at this time. The Reichspolizei hosts had people standing around to help direct the visitors to their rooms, but since it looked like most of them were busy, Drake just walked up to the front desk itself.

" _Willkommen_ ," one of the receptionists greeted him with a smile. "Are you here for the INFCOM conference, sir?"

"I am, yes," he nodded.

"Understood. If you would please present your name and ID, then we will get you to your room right away."

Drake did so, and a few minutes later he was given the key to his room on the third floor. The receptionist offered him an escort to help him find his way, but he declined, opting to head there straight away rather than wait around for someone to become available.

He found his room easily enough, and was pleased with his accommodations. It reminded him of a hotel room, and since he was only staying there for two nights at most, that was more than enough for him. He rolled his luggage beside his bed and then went over to the large glass windows which overlooked Lubeck.

 _Is Bismarck really here?_ He wondered. _I don't see why she would be at the Reichspolizei building. Maybe I should have asked the receptionist if she's around? Nah…_

Perhaps he would see her at the meeting itself. It was possible that the German representative would bring her, but still, it would be weird to take a ship girl to this sort of unimportant meeting. Fleet Admiral Van Dyke technically didn't promise that she would be here, so maybe he wouldn't see her after all? The thought deflated him, and he sighed sadly as he sat down on the bed. He debated just sitting there and watching TV until nighttime, but then he stood back up.

 _This is my first time in Germany, so I might as well get a look around. No need to be depressed over something like this,_ Drake convinced himself.

When he opened the door, he was met with the sight of a beautiful blonde woman dressed in a Reichspolizei officer uniform. She had been walking by the door at that moment, but she glanced over when it opened, and her blue eyes went wide.

 _It's Bismarck…_ Drake realized with surprise. The two of them were frozen, staring at each other without saying a word. Though Drake had been hoping to see her again, now that he he had, he did not know what to say.

Bismarck spoke first. "A-Admiral Drake?"

"Bismarck… What are you doing here?" he asked. It looked like Van Dyke had been right, but he still had no idea why Bismarck would be up on the third floor and dressed in a Reichspolizei uniform.

"My room is on this floor," she said. "What are _you_ doing here?"

"I'm here for the INFCOM meeting," he answered. "So… What's with that uniform? Don't tell me you quit the navy?"

"Of course not!" Bismarck immediately denied. "This uniform is… I've just been working for the Reichspolizei for a while. That's all."

"A ship girl is working for the military police?" Drake was confused.

She frowned. "We don't always get to pick where we are assigned. I'm sure you know that, sir."

They fell into an uncomfortable silence as that topic reminded them of their last day on the Tokyo Bay Base when they were all assigned to different locations.

 _Shit. What should I say next?_ Drake asked himself. He had finally come face to face with one of his old comrades from Japan, and he didn't want to let her go again. But what could he do? Ask her to join his fleet? What fleet?

Bismarck looked away. "W-Well, I should go now. I have duties to attend to."

"Wait!" Drake called out as he began walking away. She stopped and looked at him with those mesmerizing eyes, refreshing and as sharp as icebergs.

"After the INFCOM meeting… Will you be available?" he asked.

"Um… I don't know. Why?" Bismarck replied.

"Oh, I, uh, just wanted to talk to you for a bit," Drake told her. He didn't actually know what he wanted to say or why he asked her to meet him, but he did know that he couldn't let her walk away like he did last time.

Bismarck gave him a look he couldn't read, but then nodded. "Okay. I will meet you in front of your room afterwards, then."

She then left, and Drake felt both happiness and apprehension. He had finally found one of his ship girls again, but what should he do now? He bought himself some time to think about what he was going to say to her, but he still had no clue where to start. Right now, he was nothing. He had been stripped of his status as a Kancolle admiral, and he had no fleet and no base to command anymore. Furthermore, Bismarck was back in the service of her native country, and it would be near impossible to get her back under these conditions.

 _But I have to do it._

Ever since he had left the Tokyo Bay Base, Drake had been in a limbo. On one hand, he felt intense shame and helplessness at being removed from his command, and he wanted to get back on the battlefield and prove himself. But on the other hand, he was afraid of failing again. If his tactics couldn't match up to the Abyssals this time, it could very well mean his life as well as the lives of all his subordinates. So what was he supposed to do?

That was why he needed to talk to Bismarck. He was hoping that if he got her back, it would finally provide the spark he needed to return to the fight for good.

* * *

"All right. That concludes today's meeting. Thank you all for coming," the German officer in charge of the INFCOM logistics meeting concluded.

Before he even finished speaking, the rest of the officers in the room were already packing their things or getting out of their seats and heading for the door. As expected, the meeting had been boring and uneventful, and no major changes had been made to any of the planning that had already been done beforehand.

 _The wonders of bureaucracy,_ Drake thought sarcastically to himself as he shuffled out of the room. He began making his way back up towards the room he was staying in, though he had to admit that he was a bit nervous.

When he arrived on his floor, he saw Bismarck standing in front of his door, waiting.

 _I still don't know what to say,_ he sighed to himself. Walking towards her, he took in Bismarck's appearance. Her long, blonde hair was as alluring as ever, and her sparkling blue eyes and pretty face would leave a man breathless if he stared at them for too long.

Even more so than the first day he met her, she seemed so intimidating. Of course, things had changed since then; Drake was no longer in charge of a Kancolle fleet, and he wasn't the admiral that everyone was counting on anymore. Now he was just another sailor, no different from the faceless, nameless officers who were at the meeting today. Nevertheless, he steeled himself. She was the last thing that tied him to the Kancolle program, and though Drake never imagined that he would be in command of a bunch of cute girls when he joined the navy, for better or for worse, his career was now intertwined with them. He could not falter now.

"Excuse me! You there, from the American navy," a German-accented voice called out from behind Drake.

Annoyed at the interruption, Drake turned around. "Can I help you?"

The man who had called out to him was wearing a Reichspolizei uniform, and he was shorter than Drake by a few inches. He appeared to be a good number of years older, but his bright blue eyes held an air of childish exuberance to them.

"Yes. You are Rear Admiral Richard Drake, are you not?" the man asked. "I am Obergruppenfuhrer Thomas Mann. A pleasure to meet you."

 _Oh shit, this guy's in charge of this place,_ Drake realized as he shook Mann's hand. "Nice to meet you too. How do you know my name?"

"Isn't it the Reichspolizei's job to be knowledgeable about these things?" Mann smiled. "But I know about you specifically because you were the admiral of Bismarck's fleet, were you not?"

Drake glanced over at Bismarck, who had walked over after seeing Mann approach Drake. "Yes, that was me."

Mann nodded. "I thought so. But - my question is - why have you been sent here, then? You are a rear admiral, and you held such an important post. Why would your navy send someone like you to attend a relatively insignificant meeting such as this one?"

Drake frowned. _Is he making fun of me?_ "Don't ask me. I'm just following my orders."

Mann tapped his chin with a gloved finger. "Right, that is so… And yet, something does not add up here. Is it a coincidence that a rear admiral who used to be Bismarck's superior be sent over here where Bismarck is stationed even though a meeting such as this one is typically only attended by junior officers?"

Now Drake himself was confused. "So what are you saying? That I was sent here to kidnap Bismarck or something? That's ridiculous."

"Sir, I don't think that's plausible…" Bismarck said to Mann.

"Kidnap? I'd hope not," Mann chuckled, though there was no mirth in his tone. "I am just posing some questions to you, that is all."

"Then I'm afraid I don't have answers," Drake responded gruffly. "Now, will that be all?"

"Oh, please, Rear Admiral, don't be so brusque," Mann said, apparently unbothered. "Surely you must agree with the basic facts here. If this INFCOM meeting is normally meant for junior officers, then for the US Navy to send a rear admiral, they must have some other expectation of him, no?"

Drake couldn't help but acknowledge that Mann had a point. The navy normally would have sent an LTJG or something to this meeting, so Van Dyke must have had to put in a specific order to send Drake instead. And now that he thought about it, Van Dyke did ask him about Bismarck before he left. Did he really have some sort of other mission that he was supposed to accomplish here?

Before the conversation could go any further, a Reichspolizei officer suddenly came running up the steps on the far end of the hallway. He swiveled his head around as if he were looking for someone, then spotted Mann and ran over to the group.

"Obergruppenfuhrer!" the officer hurriedly saluted. "Reports of an Abyssal fleet sailing towards the city!"

Bismarck and Mann both wore expressions of alarm after hearing that, leaving Drake, who couldn't speak German, clueless.

"What's going on?" he asked.

Mann laughed. "I see it now… We were just informed that there is an Abyssal fleet heading towards Lubeck."

"The Abyssals?" Drake repeated in shock. "Are you going to stop them?"

Man gave him a look. "I'm the head of the Reichspolizei, not a naval officer. What could I possibly do in this scenario?"

"Excuse me for the interruption, but Miss Bismarck, you are needed," the Reichspolizei officer who had run in said. "Please come with me to the naval base."

"Right," she nodded. She then turned to Drake. "I'm sorry, Admiral, but this will have to wait."

Bismarck followed the Reichspolizei officer out as Mann and Drake watched.

"Are you just going to stand here?" Mann asked him.

"W-What do you mean?"

Mann shook his head and sighed. "I thought you were supposed to be intelligent, Rear Admiral. Your superiors obviously knew that this Abyssal attack was coming, and they sent you here to stop it along with Bismarck."

 _They knew…?_

Even with that in mind, Drake was hesitant. He had been convincing himself that he needed to get back on the battlefield, but now that the Abyssals were this close, he didn't know if he could handle them. His last battle had ended in failure, and he almost died. He still remembered his brush of death with the Ne-class, and, of course, the Battleship Princess' eyes from all the way back at Tangier still haunted him. Though he had been out of action for a while, that also meant that he had been out of the Abyssals' grasp. Was he really willing to put himself right back into their path of destruction?

As Bismarck and the Reichspolizei officer headed back down the stairs, Drake's eyes met Bismarck's for a brief moment. He suddenly recalled the moment when she had sailed back to the ship after defeating the European Princess, and how bloodied and beaten up she was. A picture of Bismarck's broken corpse slipping beneath the cold waves of the northern seas forced its way into his mind.

 _Wait… What am I doing?_

This whole time, he had only been thinking about how the decision to get back into the fight would affect him and his career. But he was not the only one affected by this… All the ship girls who had been under his command deserved a say in this too.

Drake remembered how Bismarck had tried to cheer him up after the Battle of Okinawa. When he needed someone to help him after Kaga's death, Bismarck had taken on that role. Now, when Bismarck needed someone to help her protect her country from the Abyssals, would he do the same?

He started running and immediately took off after Bismarck and the Reichspolizei officer. He sprinted down the steps and lunged into the lobby, where he caught sight of Bismarck and the officer speedily making their way towards the door. He ran over to them, causing them to turn around in surprise.

"Admiral?" Bismarck blinked. "What are you -"

"Take me with you!" Drake panted. "I… I can still fight!"

The Reichspolizei officer was dumbfounded. "Er… Excuse me, sir, but who are you?"

"I'm Rear Admiral Richard Drake of the United States Navy!" he declared, regaining his breath. "I fought at the Battle of Okinawa. Put me in!"

The officer looked supremely confused. "I, uh… _Scheisse_ …"

"Let's take him with us. No harm in doing so, right?" Bismarck said.

"I don't know… Fine! Don't blame me if this isn't allowed!" the officer finally relented as he hurried outside.

Bismarck and Drake followed, and the three of them entered a black Mercedes-Benz that was waiting for them at the entrance.

"Admiral… Are you sure you want to do this?" Bismarck asked him once the car took off.

Drake gave her a firm nod. "Yes. I have to do this."

"This is the Kriegsmarine. They probably won't let you take command," Bismarck warned.

"They'll have to. I'm the only one here who is qualified to command ship girls," Drake argued. "Hopefully they'll be able to understand that."

Bismarck gave him a worried look. "I appreciate that you're trying to help, sir, but you don't need to do this. This isn't even your country."

"That doesn't matter," he said, resolute. "This isn't about me or my country. I want to help you, Bismarck."

She blushed and looked away. "O-Okay. Do as you like, then."

Drake was too nervous to wonder about her reaction. Now that he had committed to battle, he would have to get over his fears of failure and somehow pull off a victory… But he didn't even know how many forces the enemy had, nor how many ships Germany had. He didn't know how their navy did things or how to coordinate with them. The only familiar thing in this situation was Bismarck.

He recalled how he and the German ship girl had sunk the European Princess together. If they could pull that off, then he was sure that they would be able to defeat whatever Abyssal force was attacking Lubeck right now.

 _The only issue is that I haven't even spoken to her in months,_ he thought, glancing over at Bismarck, who was still looking out the window. _To make matters worse, our parting was fairly hostile too. Will we be able to work together like we did on that day?_

The car arrived at the naval base and was hurried through the checkpoints at impressive speed. When they entered inside the base itself, a group of sailors were awaiting them, and they rushed Bismarck and Drake out of the car and towards the docks. A few of the sailors gave Drake a weird look, but they apparently didn't have the time to ask questions.

Drake and Bismarck were brought to the docks and found a battleship standing by, its big railguns swiveling and preparing for a fight. Standing in front of the ship as sailors hurried inside was an elderly man in a naval uniform. He saluted the two of them, then looked at Drake.

"Who is this?" he asked in German.

"This is Rear Admiral Drake from America," Bismarck informed him. "He was my commander in Japan, and he has fought the Abyssals multiple times before. He says he can be of use."

The man didn't seem convinced.

"I am Konteradmiral Schumann," he introduced. "I am in charge of the base here. You say you want to help us, Rear Admiral Drake?"

"Yes. Give me command of Bismarck and I can stop the Abyssals," Drake stated.

Schumann frowned under his thick white mustache. "You're telling me to give command of my best naval asset to a foreigner whom I don't even know?"

"If you want to prevent everyone in this city from being killed, then yes," Drake insisted.

Schumann glanced over at Bismarck. "Are you all right with this, Bismarck?"

"Yes, sir. I believe he can help," Bismarck answered.

"Fine. We are wasting time here, so I will allow you to come on board as an advisor, Rear Admiral Drake," Schumann decided.

That was probably the best he was going to get in this situation, so Drake just nodded and followed Schumann into the battleship. The name on her side read 'KMS _Konigs Tiger_ ,' and it looked like she was the most powerful ship docked in Lubeck.

 _Shouldn't they have an aircraft carrier here for some airpower?_ Drake wondered. _Well, I guess human aircraft won't help very much anyway…_

Drake was led to the bridge by Schumann as Bismarck went off to get outfitted in her rigging. With remarkable speed, the crew readied _Konigs Tiger_ for departure, and they were underway to meet the enemy shortly afterwards. At the very least, it was clear that the Kriegsmarine was well trained.

"How many ships do you have?" Drake asked Schumann as the German admiral got a brief break from issuing orders.

"In addition to _Konigs Tiger_ , we have three light cruisers and a destroyer," Schumann said. "Reconnaissance says the enemy fleet is composed of ten Ro-class destroyers, two Imp packs, three chi-class torpedo cruisers, and a Ta-class battleship flag."

"The numbers are against us, then," Drake summed up with a grimace. It was sixteen against six, and five of those six were human-manned ships. This wouldn't be an easy fight to win.

"Yes, though I don't plan on admitting defeat just yet," Schumann firmly replied.

"What is your plan, then? I don't speak German, so I couldn't understand the orders you were giving."

"I have ordered all escorting ships to break off from the formation and surround the Abyssals," Schumann said. "We will encircle them and trap them in the middle, then shell them from a long distance. If the Abyssals start going after one ship in particular, I will order that ship to retreat and the rest of our vessels will continue the attack until we can reintroduce that ship to the battle. We will keep this up until the Abyssals have been defeated."

 _That's a terrible strategy,_ Drake thought, but he didn't voice it out loud. He could tell that Schumann was already annoyed with his presence, and he seriously doubted that that the Germans would consider changing their plan just because he told them to.

"What did you plan to do with Bismarck?" Drake asked next.

"I will use her where she is needed," Schumann answered. "If one ship in particular is not drawing the Abyssals' attention enough, I will send Bismarck over there to assist the ship in shelling the enemy."

Drake sighed internally. _Yep, this guy has no idea what he's doing. Bismarck is our best weapon against the Abyssals. She shouldn't be treated as a member of the supporting cast!_

Luckily Drake had been given permission to act as an "advisor," so he was going to make sure that Bismarck could be used to her full potential. Stepping off to the side a bit, Drake switched the ear mic he had been given to Bismarck's private channel.

"Are you out on the water yet, Bismarck?"

" _Yes, sir. I am to the aft of the_ Konigs Tiger _right now,_ " she replied. " _I was briefed before I sortied. It seems we are outnumbered."_

"Yeah. We can still win, though," Drake assured her.

The loudspeakers on the ship began announcing something, and though it was in German, Drake could pretty much guess the meaning by how everyone on the bridge was tensing up and getting to their battlestations. It appeared that they were rapidly approaching the enemy fleet.

With his hands in his pockets and an even look on his face, Drake tried to give off a calm appearance. However, this was the first time in several months that he was returning to the battlefield, and his heart was pounding in his chest. A few minutes later, the _Konigs Tiger_ 's railguns began going off. Though the new railguns had been developed to be quieter, they still shook the ship with their soft thumping, and even in the bridge, Drake could feel the reverberations.

An unsettling feeling came over him. The last time that he had felt the sensation of big battleship guns was during the Battle of Tangier, and the booming noises and vibrations were all too similar to what he heard and felt on that day. To his horror, Drake's stomach began churning, and he suddenly felt very ill. Hoping that no one else would notice, he slowly walked away from the middle of the room and leaned against the window on the right side of the bridge as he attempted to regain his bearings.

 _It's no use… Agh, fuck! Why can't I control my own body!_ Drake cursed himself as the constricting panic only got worse.

" _Admiral, what are you doing!"_ Bismarck's voice interrupted through his earpiece.

Drake turned his head slightly to see that the German ship girl was sailing along the _Konigs Tiger_ 's starboard side, meaning she could see him through the bridge window.

" _Get ahold of yourself, sir! Give me your orders!"_ she continued.

 _Yeah… This isn't about me anymore,_ Drake reminded himself. This wasn't about his survival like it was at Tangier. He had debts to pay.

"S-Sorry," Drake replied through his mic as he steadied himself slowly. "Did Schumann give you any orders yet?"

" _Not yet."_

 _I should take the early initiative here so that the Germans don't tie her up in something,_ he thought. The only problem was that he couldn't control the other players in this battle, so it was essentially just him and Bismarck versus an entire Abyssal fleet. He couldn't count on the German surface forces for any concrete support.

He stayed in the corner of the bridge, trying not to make himself too conspicuous. His brown eyes were glued on the large radar screen towards the front of the bridge that displayed the enemy fleet location and the position of all friendly units.

 _All right… All that time spent training in simulations with Fleet Admiral Van Dyke and the American ship girls has to have taught me something,_ Drake told himself as he tried to reckon with the unfavorable odds he was facing. _Based on the enemy fleet composition, it looks like there will be a lot of torpedoes in the water. Bismarck's firepower is enough to kill any of them besides the Ta-class with ease, but if she gets hit with a torpedo swarm, then it's over for her. Not to mention those PT Imps… I've never faced them before, but they're fast and deadly._

"Bismarck, keep an eye out for torpedoes," Drake warned her preemptively.

"Jawohl _,"_ she acknowledged. " _Enemy fleet in sight."_

As Drake was thinking of his next move, he saw large arching missiles shooting out from behind him and off into the distance.

"The fuck?" he wondered quietly to himself.

Nobody else in the bridge seemed surprised, and Drake quickly realized it must be some sort of shore battery opening up on the enemy. He doubted it would be very effective, but more support was always welcome.

" _Admiral, the enemy is within shelling range,"_ Bismarck informed him. " _Shall I fire?"_

"No, save your ammo. Their fleet is fast and will be able to avoid shots from just one battleship," Drake said.

"Bismarck! Begin shelling the enemy fleet!" Konteradmiral Schumann ordered right after that, speaking in English on Bismarck's and Drake's channel.

 _Seriously?_ Drake sighed. He waited until Schumann turned away to attend to something else before he got back on the line with Bismarck, who must have been confused at the contradicting orders. "Just do it for now until I think of something else. Don't waste too much ammo."

On the radar, Drake could see the German fleet begin to break apart and carry out Schumann's strategy. The _Konigs Tiger_ hung back and was the farthest away from the enemy fleet because it had the longest range. Bismarck was still sailing in place next to the _Konigs Tiger_. As for the enemies, it looked like they were forming up in a circle, content to be surrounded by the human fleet.

 _So their plan is to just launch torpedoes outwards from the center, huh?_ Drake realized. Considering the volume of torpedoes that the Abyssals could field and the speed of Abyssal torpedoes against human vessels, it wasn't a bad strategy. _Wait… There's two small signatures moving towards us. The PT Imps? They must be planning to sink the flagship and Bismarck._

"Bismarck! Defeat those imps!" Schumann yelled as he got back on the line with the ship girl.

 _Well, at least he has the right idea there,_ Drake agreed. There was no way in hell any human vessel could ever sink a PT Imp one-on-one.

Drake got on Bismarck's channel. "Those imps are fast and have torpedoes. Your main guns are useless here, so rely on your secondaries."

" _Yes, sir."_

Crossing his arms, Drake glanced out the window as Bismarck moved to intercept.

 _This is it. Now the battle truly begins…_


	48. Fate's Hand II

_A/N: As promised, a much quicker update this time._

* * *

Rear Admiral Richard Drake watched Bismarck's lone figure sail out in front of the _Konigs Tiger_ from his position inside the bridge. Her beautiful, long blonde hair streamed in the bay breeze, and her massive guns splayed out on both sides of her rigging. In front of her, he could see two fast-moving wakes heading straight for her. The PT imps had spotted her and looked to be converging on her position.

But now that he was getting a good look at Bismarck, Drake noticed there was something different about her.

"Bismarck… Did you change your uniform?" he asked her. Her uniform and hat now had some black and white striped patterns, and her rigging also looked a bit different.

" _Hm? Oh, yes, I forgot to mention that. I underwent some sort of remodel procedure here at the base. I can also fire torpedoes now."_

Drake remembered what Van Dyke had told him before he left for Germany. _The Kai Ni procedure was done for her too?_

Drake noticed that most of the bridge staff were also watching Bismarck instead of attending to their own duties. It seemed that they had not had much experience with ship girls, and they were taking this opportunity to see how one really fights. The general public was aware of the existence of ship girls, but very few people actually got to see them in person, even if you were in the navy.

 _Now the question is how to defeat those imps with just one battleship-class ship girl…_

Drake was still standing in the back of the bridge, and it looked like everyone had forgotten he was even there. Nevertheless, it would be up to him to win this battle. This was a smaller enemy force than the ones he had faced at Okinawa and even at Hachijo-jima, but if he failed here, he would likely die along with everyone else in this fleet. This was no joke.

 _All right, calm down… I've trained for this,_ he told himself. Back in Japan, he had done many drills where the the capital ships had to hunt down the smaller destroyers and light cruisers, and he had run simulations like that in Alaska too. The situation with the imps was just a more extreme version of that.

" _Admiral, the enemy is coming within range of my secondaries,"_ Bismarck informed him.

"Roger that," Drake replied, watching from the bridge. He could see Bismarck's guns beginning to open up on the imps, but it didn't look like even the secondaries were hitting.

Bismarck confirmed that shortly afterwards. " _It's no use. I can't hit them."_

"Yeah. You need to lure them towards you in order to actually hit them, but since imps fight by launching torpedoes, that's going to be difficult," Drake said, mostly just thinking out loud.

" _Or I could try this,"_ Bismarck started, and Drake watched as she lifted the secondary gun in her right hand and pointed it at the enemy like it was some sort of pistol.

When she pulled the trigger, shells shot out from the gun and impacted the water fairly close to one of the imps, though the Abyssal just managed to dodge it.

"So your secondaries aren't mounted to your rigging anymore? That's useful," Drake noted. It would make her aim a lot more flexible.

" _Tch. I still can't him them, though,"_ Bismarck observed.

 _Yeah, that alone won't win this battle,_ Drake knew.

But he needed to think quickly, because the imps had already sailed within range of Bismarck. The demonic little creatures sped about the bay, throwing up a spray of water whenever they stopped to turn. Soon they had Bismarck encircled.

"Watch out for their torpedoes," Drake cautioned again as he tensed up, unable to think of anything in time.

Sure enough, the wake from the high-speed torpedoes could be seen as the imps launched their spreads. Bismarck swiveled her head from side to side as she tried to keep track of the numerous underwater projectiles heading towards her. She popped a shot of her secondary off at one of the imp packs, but it easily dodged because Bismarck was too focused on the torpedoes to aim properly. Even so, there were just too many torpedoes rapidly coming at her, and she couldn't sail out of their range in time. Some of the torpedoes detonated behind her, throwing her forward and knocking her down. Inside the bridge, the German sailors groaned and cursed.

Drake hurriedly got back on the mic. "Get up, Bismarck! They'll finish you off if you give them the chance!"

She didn't need to be told twice, and Bismarck quickly got to her feet and pointed her guns at the imps. The imps sped away and circled back behind her, and though Bismarck turned to face them again, they were just too fast for a battleship who was lugging around heavy rigging. Each time she got them in her sights, they would dart away.

" _Admiral, I can't get a good shot!"_ Bismarck exclaimed in frustration.

 _Fine, then. Let's use their strategy against them._ "Launch your own torpedoes in a circular spread."

" _I can't launch that many at one time. There will be spaces open in the circle for them to dodge,"_ Bismarck warned.

"That's no problem. If that's the case, then you know exactly where the imps will be heading, right? Preemptively aim your guns in those spaces not covered by the torpedo spread."

Bismarck complied with the order and shot a spread of torpedoes out from the tubes on her rigging. She then turned and launched another spread in the other direction to cover both sides. The imps that were sailing around her had actually just launched their own torpedoes at this time too, but they jumped up in alarm at seeing a ship girl battleship countering with her own torpedoes. Surprised, they immediately weaved away from Bismarck's torpedoes and sped into the water that had not been inundated with the projectiles.

A splitsecond later, several explosions went off, sending huge plumes of water into the air. Some of Bismarck's torpedoes had collided with the imps' torpedoes and blasted each other open. In the midst of this confusion, Bismarck opened fire on the imps, who had gone exactly where she thought they would.

The first imp pack was hit by two shots from her secondary cannon. The direct hits smashed into the imps and blew up in their faces, immediately battering them into bits. Bismarck had angled her main guns to face where she thought they second imp pack would go, and as she fired her secondary gun, she let loose one of her main cannons too. Since she was not facing in the direction of the second imp pack, the shot from the main cannon missed its mark. Nevertheless, the large blast impact slammed into the imp pack, sending it into the air along with bursts of water. After finishing off the first imp pack, Bismarck turned on her heel and fired her secondary at the stunned second pack, destroying it in mid-air as the spray from the torpedo explosions died and rained down on her.

The rapid sinking of the two imp packs elicited cheers and whoops from the bridge staff, and their morale was back up.

" _Wunderbar_! What agility and power!" Schumann marveled.

 _Yeah, it looks like the Kai Ni remodel did make her stronger,_ Drake thought.

Bismarck looked back the _Konigs Tiger_ , then smiled confidently and raised her secondary gun into the air as a symbol of victory. That brought on even more cheering and clapping from the bridge.

"All right, don't forget we still have the rest of the battle, Rear Admiral Drake," Schumann said, then turned to the bridge staff and officers and said something in German in order to make them quiet down.

" _Admiral! Give me my next target!"_ Bismarck said over the channel, evidently pumped up now.

The other radio channels also sparked to life. Drake could hear frantic shouting in German from the operators' consoles, and judging by the way Schumann's expression changed to one of anger, it was clear that things weren't going well for the rest of the fleet.

The German admiral turned to Drake. "The destroyer _Hameln II_ has been badly crippled and is about to sink. Our other ships seem to be in trouble too. We must have Bismarck go and provide support to them!"

Drake glanced over at the big radar display. It looked like the Ro-class destroyers and the Chi-class were on the offensive, directly attacking the German fleet. The Ta-class did not seem to be moving, and Drake guessed that she was sitting back and shelling instead of rushing fo them.

"I don't know. That Ta-class looks like she's waiting for Bismarck to make a move. She's probably going to try and surround Bismarck with the other Abyssals when Bismarck goes to help out your ships," Drake cautioned. "I'd suggest sending Bismarck out to sink the Ta-class because the Ta-class is isolated right now. She can move to help the rest of the fleet afterwards."

Schumann gave him a look. "Are you mad? The Abyssals will sink all our other ships during that time!"

" _Admiral, your orders?"_ Bismarck asked again.

"Bismarck! Sail east to assist the _Hameln II_!" Schumann answered instead of Drake.

"Jawohl _,"_ she responded.

For his part, Drake kept his eyes glued to the radar screen, wondering what the Ta-class would do. He expected that she would soon break off from her stationary position now that Bismarck was heading into the fray, and a few minutes later, he was proven right.

" _Taking fire from the enemy battleship,"_ Bismarck radioed in. " _Shall I fire back?"_

"Yes. Cut her off and make sure she doesn't pincer you with the destroyers and Chi-classes," Drake took the opportunity to warn.

"Bismarck, ignore her! Defend the fleet!" Schumann immediately contradicted Drake.

 _Well, this is a pain in the ass,_ Drake frowned. Having two people with conflicting views in command was never a good idea, though technically Drake wasn't even supposed to hold any power here.

Understandably, Bismarck was confused. " _Uh, so what do I do? Do I sail towards our fleet or towards the Ta-class?"_

Drake turned towards Schumann to try and convince the German admiral to change his mind, but before he could say anything, the bridge staff began shouting urgently again. Schumann replied with something in German, and then a new voice came in through the radio comms.

" _This is Gripen 01 of SIN,"_ the voice said in accented English. " _Who is in command of this fleet?"_

 _SIN? The Swedish Ice Navy?_ Drake wondered. Did Germany asks the Swedes for help?

"Gripen 01, this is Konteradmiral Schumann of the Kriegsmarine. Are you here to offer your assistance?" Schumann radioed back.

" _Yes, we were sent to provide support along with our single ship girl naval unit. Is the airspace clear? I don't see anything on my radar."_

"Ship girl?" Schumann repeated, ignoring the pilot's question. "Sweden has a ship girl?"

Drake and the rest of the bridge staff were just as surprised.

" _Yes, her name is Gotland. Is the airspace clear? We will not dogfight Abyssal planes,"_ the pilot asked again, a tinge of annoyance in his voice.

"R-Right, there are no carrier-type Abyssals in the combat zone," Schumann finally answered.

" _Roger that, we will provide air support from a distance in order to avoid their anti-air guns. Gotland will sail forward to assist your Bismarck, but be warned that our navy will retreat if necessary."_

Schumann immediately switched comms back to Bismarck's frequency. "Bismarck! There is another ship girl coming to assist you! Do you see her?"

" _I do see a ship girl signature on my radar, yes. Where did she come from? Our ship girl fleet doesn't have any light cruisers."_

 _Oh, so she's a light cruiser?_ Drake thought as Schumann explained the situation to Bismarck. He wasn't familiar with the WWII ship known as _Gotland_ , but he was at least glad that Bismarck had some help now.

" _Um, hello? This is Gotland of the Swedish Ice Navy. Do you read me, Kriegsmarine?"_ a new voice said in English on the same channel Bismarck was using. Like other foreign ship girls, she had an accent but spoke English very well.

"We read you, Gotland. This is Konteradmiral Schumann on the _Konigs Tiger_ ," Schumann radioed back. "Thank you for your help. Please assist Bismarck in defending the fleet."

" _Roger that, sir,"_ Gotland answered dutifully.

Drake still had his eyes on the radar. "The Ta-class is beginning to move. Gotland will defend the fleet and Bismarck will sail to intercept the enemy."

Before Schumann could even reply, Drake got on the comms. "Bismarck, intercept the Ta-class immediately. Don't let her close to the fleet. Gotland, defend the _Hameln II_ and the light cruisers."

"Jawohl _."_ Drake could see Bismarck's signature begin to split off from Gotland's.

" _Sir, I think your destroyer is done for… The crew is abandoning ship,"_ Gotland then said.

" _Scheisse!_ Fight the ship, you idiots!" Schumann shouted on another channel when he heard that.

Since Schumann was evidently busy, Drake modified his orders to Gotland. "Fine. Protect the survivors."

" _I will try, but… There's quite a lot of Abyssals in this area."_ A hint of worry could be heard in her voice.

 _Fuck, she's right,_ Drake looked up at the radar. Could one light cruiser really take on ten Ro-classes and three Chi-classes? He couldn't send Bismarck back because all her attention needed to be on the Ta-class, who was by far the most powerful ship in the enemy fleet.

Drake turned to Schumann. "Order your light cruisers to help Gotland. Do not let them sink. Also, get those Swedish planes to do something."

" _Ja_ , obviously," Schumann frowned as he got on the comms with the Gripen squadron.

" _Be advised, Konteradmiral, we are moving to protect Gotland,"_ Gripen 01 said before Schumann could even get a word in.

"Uh, yes. Please take care of those Ro and Chi-classes," Schumann nodded.

Drake crossed his arms and watched the advanced radar screen with a tense look. Bismarck was easily in cannon range of the Ta-class, but neither of them were firing upon each other right now. The Swedish planes meanwhile were flying towards the bulk of the fighting, but they maintained a sizeable distance and stuck to the perimeter of the battlefield. Given what happened to most of the pilots in Okinawa, Drake couldn't blame them.

" _Targets in sight. Gripen 01, firing. Fox Three."_

" _Gripen 02, Fox Three."_

" _Gripen 03, Fox Three."_

" _Gripen 04, Fox Three."_

Everyone on the bridge held his breath as they waited. A few seconds later, Gripen 01 got back on the comms.

" _All targets missed. Circling back to reengage."_

Groans went up among the bridge staff, and Schumann shook his head and puffed up his face with frustration.

Drake rubbed his chin nervously. _We can't win like this. Bismarck has to finish that Ta-class quickly…_

* * *

"You're quite bold to sail right up to me like this," the Ta-class smirked, her blazing green eyes glowing fiercely.

"I could say the same to you," Bismarck replied.

The two battleships stood mere meters apart, their big guns trained on each other.

"Do you know why we have sailed here today?" the Ta-class then asked.

"You Abyssals? You've come to destroy the naval base here," Bismarck narrowed her eyes.

"Haha… Wrong answer!" the Ta-class grinned. "The only reason we are here is to sink you, KMS Bismarck. Destroying this city would be a bonus, but killing you is our only objective."

Bismarck blinked in surprise. "Me? Why?"

"Why do you think? You are the ship girl who single-handedly defeated the European Princess. This is our revenge," the Ta-class glared at her.

"You've got it wrong. I had a lot of help," Bismarck told her. "But I suppose it doesn't matter. If I'm up against a peon like you, I won't need any assistance."

The Ta-class scowled at that. "So you're getting cocky now? Don't think you can get lucky twice. I'll sink you here and avenge our Princess."

The Ta-class' guns went off, which Bismarck was expecting. She dodged them easily enough even at this range, and she prepared to fire her own broadside. However, the Abyssal jaws underneath the Ta-class' guns suddenly opened their mouths and spat out globs of green liquid. Caught off-guard, Bismarck stumbled backwards, though one glob still managed to hit her on the right arm. The liquid sizzled as it burnt her skin, gnawing away at the flesh and muscle and revealing the steel bone beneath.

"Damn it!" Bismarck hissed, then fired an off-balance shot at the Ta-class, which the Abyssal evaded.

"This is the great Bismarck? How pathetic," the Ta-class sneered.

Bismarck smirked at her opponent. "Pathetic, huh?"

The Ta-class froze in confusion and then screamed as the water underneath her suddenly exploded.

"Fool. That's what you get for not paying attention to your surroundings," Bismarck declared proudly as she adjusted her cap.

But as the spray died down, the Ta-class was still there, hunched over but alive.

"Heh… I didn't expect you to have torpedoes. Our intel didn't say anything about that," the Ta-class coughed.

 _Impossible! With that many torpedoes, even a battleship should have been sunk!_ Bismarck thought with horror.

The Abyssal stood up. Her eyes were glowing gold now, and the previously green energy that had been emanating from the jaws of her beasts had also turned gold.

"You ship girls aren't the only ones who can be remodeled," the Ta-class held out her hands. "Sink, Bismarck!"

A volley of shells slathered with golden energy shot outwards from the Abyssal's guns, and Bismarck dove to the surface of the water to avoid it. However, this allowed the Ta-class to sail up to her, and the Abyssal took that opportunity to land a smashing kick into Bismarck's stomach and send her flying. Bismarck landed hard on the water and struggled to avoid throwing up after that hard hit.

" _Bismarck, is everything all right?"_ Drake asked through the radio.

"Admiral… This bitch has some sort of upgrade," she let him know.

" _Upgrade…? What do you mean?"_

"I mean she's stronger now! This isn't a regular Ta-class!" Bismarck emphasized.

" _Okay, that doesn't tell me shit. What is different about her?"_

"I don't know! She has increased durability and firepower, probably speed too!" Bismarck replied, frustrated.

" _So do you, though. You're telling me you can't beat her?"_

"Ugh… Admiral, are you going to help me or not?" Bismarck was fed up.

" _You want my help that badly, huh?"_

Bismarck could just feel the smugness in his voice, which only made her even angrier.

"Now is not the time to -"

In a sudden burst of the speed, the Ta-class launched herself across the waves and immediately closed the distance between her and Bismarck. Before Bismarck could react, the Ta-class' fist smashed into her face, knocking her back a few meters once again.

Her face stinging with pain, Bismarck reached up to her nose and saw blood covering her gloved hand when she pulled it away. Wiping away the blood, she stood up and tried to regain her bearings.

" _Bismarck? Are you all right? What happened? Hello?"_

The Ta-class' guns pointing in her direction forced Bismarck to ignore Drake for the time being. She leapt to the side, barely avoiding the Abyssal's shells. The Ta-class rushed at her again, though this time Bismarck managed to catch the Ta-class' punch. The two battleships were locked in a contest of strength, each one trying to push the other back.

 _Damn it, my guns can't rotate to reach her from this close,_ Bismarck cursed as she grit her teeth and tried to push the Abyssal back. The Ta-class' burning yellow eyes flashed in Bismarck's face, and the ship girl was steadily losing ground.

" _Bismarck! What the fuck are you doing!"_ Drake's voice sounded through the comms again. " _The radar shows you two on top of each other! Just remember the basics of CQC!"_

Those words gave Bismarck an idea. _Right. If the enemy is concentrated on the upper body…_

Bismarck swept her leg out, tripping the Ta-class. Since they were locked together, Bismarck also lost her balance, but she was prepared for that. She made sure to let her portside rigging take the brunt of the landing, and as soon as it hit the water, she launched her remaining torpedoes which were also on the portside.

The projectiles sailed through the water with speed and smashed into the Ta-class, exploding as they hit her. The proximity also threw up the water underneath Bismarck and launched her a few meters back too, but she was mostly unhurt. The Ta-class however, was now nothing more than a flaming wreck, having taken multiple torpedo shots.

With a smirk of satisfaction, Bismarck stood up and wiped the blood from her nose once more. The Ta-class' lifeless yellow eyes stared up at the sky as the Abyssal slipped underneath the northern waters.

 _Hmph. Don't underestimate the power of a remodeled ship girl._

" _Hello? Bismarck? Come in!"_

" _Mein Gott,_ what is it?" Bismarck finally replied.

" _Good, you're alive,"_ Drake said with relief. " _What's the status on the Ta-class?"_

"She's dead."

" _Nice job. Are you injured?"_

She was pretty sore and her nose was still bleeding a bit, but she could still fight.

"I'm all right. I don't have anymore torpedoes, though," she answered.

" _Okay. Well, the rest of the fleet is in trouble. Gotland is having a hard time by herself, and our missiles can't lock onto the Abyssals. You're going to need to eliminate the rest of the Abyssals as well."_

"Leave it to me, sir," Bismarck replied confidently. "I'll sail towards Gotland right now."

As she got closer, Bismarck could see the Swedish ship girl struggling to evade the numerous Abyssals surrounding her. The enemy destroyers leapt out of the water and occasionally popped off cannon shots, and the Chi-class torpedo cruisers were no doubt filling the water with dangerous projectiles. Behind Gotland, the husk of the _Hameln II_ could be seen trailing smoke into the sky as the water around her was dotted with shipwrecked sailors. Intermittently, a sailor or two was pulled under the waves and did not reappear, indicating that the Ro-class destroyers were at work there too. The Gripen fighter planes made passes overhead, but it looked like they couldn't get a lock on the enemy for the most part.

Bismarck's cannons thundered as she let loose a volley towards the Chi-class cruisers, if only to distract them and give Gotland a moment's respite. Her guns smoking, Bismarck held up a finger to her earpiece.

"Admiral. What is the plan of attack?"

" _We are still outnumbered significantly… How much ammo do you have left?"_ Drake asked.

"Not much. I am the only ship girl stationed in Lubeck, and the base here has had not experience in training with ship girls, so there wasn't much ship girl ammo stocked up in the first place," Bismarck admitted.

" _Hm. That's what I figured…"_

A relatively louder explosion sounded from where Gotland was fighting the Abyssals. At first Bismarck thought that one of her cannon shots had miraculously hit, but instead she saw that a torpedo strike had finally connected with Gotland. One of the Swedish ship girl's legs was torn and burnt, and smoke was emanating from her rigging as she winced and tried to sail away from the enemy.

" _What happened? Did Gotland get hit?"_ Drake wondered.

"Atervanda till skeppet, _Gotland,"_ a new voice cut in over the comms.

" _What?"_ Drake repeated, confused. " _Who the hell was that? Gripen squadron?"_

" _Urgh… I've been ordered to retreat,"_ Gotland got on the comms too. " _Sorry. The rest is up to you all."_

" _Wait! Not yet! We still need your help!"_ Drake protested. " _Gripen squadron, we need Gotland to stay a bit longer."_

" _We were ordered to tell Gotland to retreat if she took any damage,"_ the pilot replied back, evidently still monitoring the comms. " _There is nothing we can do about it. Those are our orders."_

" _She can still fight. Right, Gotland?"_ Drake pressed.

" _Um, I… I am still operational, but…"_

" _Just a few more minutes. We will let her go after that. Besides, it's not as if she can retreat right now with all those enemies surrounding her,"_ Drake pointed out.

" _Fine. Hurry up and create a break in their defenses,"_ the Gripen pilot said.

" _Roger that. Bismarck, hurry up and get over there. Gotland, just stay alive for a bit longer. I have a plan,"_ the American admiral assured them.

" _R-Right,"_ came Gotland's nervous reply.

Bismarck kept on sailing ahead. Strangely enough, those words had reassured her.

"Watch out, Miss Bismarck! There are a lot of them!" Gotland called out as Bismarck approached. The light cruiser's dark blue hair had come undone and was flying in the wind as she tried to evade the Ro-classes that leapt out of the water and took potshots at her.

The destroyers were too fast for Bismarck to get a lock on, so she turned towards the Chi-classes. However, they too were rather agile, and since they had so many torpedoes available, Bismarck was forced to concentrate on dodging the underwater shots instead of taking aim at the Chi-classes themselves.

" _Bismarck, Gotland, stop trying to take the enemy on individually. Try to get together and then sail back towards our fleet."_

"But then the enemy will take aim at our ships," Bismarck cautioned.

" _That doesn't matter for now. Just do it."_

Complying with the order, Bismarck turned and blasted her guns blindly into the group of Chi-classes. Though the shots didn't actually hit any of them, the full volley managed to distract them long enough for Gotland to sail over to Bismarck. However, as Gotland was fleeing, Bismarck saw a Ro-class jump out of the water behind her and aim its gun right at her back.

 _Damn it!_ Bismarck cursed as she quickly grabbed a surprised Gotland and shielded her form the shot. The destroyer's shell slammed into Bismarck's ribs and didn't detonate, but it still hit her hard enough to bruise them, making her cringe in pain.

"Oh, no! Are you all right?" Gotland asked worriedly.

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine. A battleship can take that kind of hit better than a light cruiser can," Bismarck replied. "Come on, we need to sail back to the rest of the fleet."

The two ship girls sailed back in the direction of the _Konigs Tiger_ as fast as they could, occasionally weaving away from shots fired by the trailing Abyssals.

" _All right, that's far enough. Turn back around and face them,"_ Drake ordered.

"We're just in the same situation as earlier except now the Abyssals can target our ships too," Gotland noted, not seeing what the point of that maneuver was.

 _Yes, and now the Abyssals have us all in one spot as well,_ Bismarck thought as she frowned. _I wonder what your plan is, Admiral…_

" _Okay, now you need to drive the Abyssals back. I wanted the other ships to help with this, but Admiral Schumann refused to send them, so you're unfortunately on your own right now. But we will provide fire support as much as we can from afar,"_ Drake said.

"Drive them back… But how?" Bismarck asked. "I am low on ammo, and there are too many of them."

" _It doesn't matter if you hit them or not. Your only objective here is to drive them back to the_ Hameln II _. Use all your ammo if you have to, just be sure to keep a constant stream of gunfire up and advance forward. You too, Gotland."_

The two ship girls looked at each other unsurely before they turned back to face the enemy. There was nothing they could do but follow orders, so they began shooting off their guns in the direction of the Abyssal fleet.

First Bismarck fired her main guns, then Gotland and Bismarck's secondaries started shooting. Almost all of their shots missed because neither one of them was taking aim at a specific target, but they did succeed in keeping a constant barrage up. The _Konigs Tiger_ was providing support with her big railguns, and her shots were landing among the Abyssal fleet from afar. Even the Gripens had joined in, though their contribution was intermittent as most of their planes were probably running low on missiles.

As Bismarck fired her booming main guns again, she wondered what the purpose of this was. They were definitely pushing the Abyssals back, but they were not scoring any hits. Lost in her thoughts, Bismarck forgot to fire her guns again when it was her turn, and this allowed one of the Chi-classes to finally get in a counter, and it launched its spread of torpedoes directly at Bismarck. Bismarck swerved harshly to the side, splashing water into the air and then firing her guns to continue the advance. However, the torpedoes had been launched, and they were heading directly towards the _Konigs Tiger_.

"Admiral! Torpedoes heading your way!" Bismarck urgently warned.

" _Torpedoes…? Doesn't matter. Continue forwards. Don't stop for anything, even if the_ Konigs Tiger _is hit!"_

"But -"

" _There's nothing you can do about it now, Bismarck. Just keep going forward! We lose if you don't push them back!"_

Gritting her teeth in frustration, Bismarck turned back towards the Abyssals. _I shouldn't have been so careless. Hopefully they can evade the torpedoes…_

Bismarck and Gotland pushed the Abyssal fleet back until they had returned to the site of the burning _Hameln II_. Most of the shipwrecked sailors were gone by now, either having evacuated via the rafts or been eliminated by the Abyssals or drowned. Bismarck and Gotland were still fairly far away from the enemies, and if they pushed them back any further, they would go past the sinking destroyer… Not that they could anyway; Bismarck had completely run out of ammunition in both her primary and secondary guns.

"What do we do now?" Gotland wondered. Their orders were only to push the Abyssals back towards the _Hameln II_ , and the Abyssals were definitely backed up against the ship now. But now that Bismarck and Gotland could no longer keep up their steady stream of the fire, the Abyssals would finally begin to scatter and counterattack.

Just then, a explosion sounded from behind them. Bismarck and Gotland whipped around to see the _Konigs Tiger_ lurch in the water as she was in the middle of a turn to port. Her starboard side had been struck with at least a couple torpedoes.

"Admiral! Are you all right?!" Bismarck hurriedly asked.

No response came, and Bismarck continued to stare at the now-smoking battleship in horror. Realizing Bismarck was distracted, Gotland turned back towards the Abyssals and started firing at them, attempting to hold them off as best as she could until Bismarck regained her bearings.

"Admiral! Answer me!" Bismarck demanded again.

" _... Bismarck, I'm all right. What's your status?"_

Bismarck could hear shouting in the background of Drake's transmission, and Drake himself sounded rather shaken up.

"What's going on over there? Is the ship going to sink?"

" _I told you not to worry about that! What are the Abyssals doing right now?"_

"Answer my question first! You have to abandon ship if it has taken too much damage!" Bismarck refused to back down.

" _What's with you? Why are you so worried about me suddenly?"_ Drake asked, frustration clear in his tone.

"Because… Because…" Bismarck wasn't sure how to answer that herself.

" _... Never mind. But listen, Bismarck. I refuse to lose this time, and I refuse to you lose you either. That is why I need you to follow my plan no matter what happens to me, got it? Now what's your status?"_

"I… I'm out of ammo, but we've pushed the Abyssals back towards the _Hameln II_ like you said," she replied, only just now noticing that Gotland was dumping the last of her ammunition on the Abyssals.

" _Good. That's good, because they've already fired. Now, you two, get the fuck away from there as fast as you can."_

Not needing to be told twice, Bismarck and Gotland turned around and retreated from the area. When she turned to face her fleet, Bismarck saw that the ships on the perimeter had launched a good number of missiles into the air.

 _Is he trying to use the same tactic he used when we sunk the European Princess?_ Bismarck wondered. _But that's impossible. Unlike back then, there is more than one target now, and they are all moving. It's impossible for a modern cruise missile to lock onto a mobile Abyssal, especially ones as fast as destroyers and cruisers!_

Even if the missiles landed in the vicinity of the Abyssals, they could still evade the majority of the blast zone and escape with only minor damage. If that happened, the ships would also be out of ammo, and there would practically be nothing left to combat the Abyssals with.

 _What is he thinking…?_ Bismarck thought, keeping an eye on the missiles. _But the way he spoke… I have to trust him._

The missiles fell from their apex and darted downwards towards the area of the Abyssal fleet. Moments later, a massive explosion tore open the air, sending a huge spray of water, fire, and smoke into the sky and causing Bismarck to stumble in surprise. A shockwave followed soon after, almost knocking her over again.

"W-What was that?" Gotland was shocked.

" _We couldn't target the Abyssals with our missiles, but we can definitely target another human-made ship,"_ Drake got back on the comms. " _I told Admiral Schumann my plan, and we had all our destroyers and cruisers lock onto the_ Hameln II _and fire all our missiles at it. The impact from the missiles blew up the ship and its entire ammo and missile stock, which is why we had you two push the Abyssals back towards it. If they're caught in an explosion that big, they won't survive."_

 _I see… So he targeted the_ Hameln II _instead of the Abyssals themselves,_ Bismarck summed up.

" _Confirming, all Abyssal signatures have disappeared,"_ Drake added. " _We did it. Bismarck, you're all right? Can you make it back to the ship?"_

"Yes, sir. I'll be there shortly," she replied, unable to keep the smile from her face.

" _Okay. That's good…"_

A few minutes later, Bismarck and Gotland entered the holding bay of the _Konigs Tiger_. Gotland had let the Swedish pilots know that she was going aboard the German battleship for repairs, and she was given clearance to do so now that the battle was won. The _Konigs Tiger_ herself was still smoking from the torpedo hit, but she was otherwise unharmed; it seemed like Bismarck's early warning had allowed the ship to turn away from the majority of the torpedoes. The rest of the German ships were sailing towards the site of the _Hameln II_ 's sinking, scouring for any potential survivors in spite of the fact that the blast would have wiped out both human and Abyssal alike. The Gripens had returned to the SIN carrier that was sailing into the bay now that the threat had been eliminated.

As a trio of engineers helped Bismarck gingerly remove her rigging, Konteradmiral Schumann walked into the holding area.

"Bismarck! Well done," he congratulated her in German. "Nothing less from the Reich's greatest battleship!"

"Thank you, sir." Bismarck couldn't help but proudly puff up in spite of her injuries. "But… I must give credit to Admiral Drake. It was his plan, no?"

"Hm. Yes, the American proved to be smarter than I thought," Schumann nodded. "He was a bit reckless in causing such a huge explosion, but we had no choice but to go along with his plan when he told us that he ordered you and Gotland to waste all your ammunition. Regardless, I suppose he was successful in the end…"

"Is Admiral Drake still on the bridge?" Bismarck asked. Though she tried to hide it in her voice, she was eager to see him and make sure he was all right.

Schumann absently rubbed his mustache. "Oh, about that… Rear Admiral Drake is unconscious and in the sick bay right now."


	49. Fate's Hand III

"Admiral!" Bismarck called out as she slammed open the door to the infirmary.

One of the nurses who was busy bandaging another patient's head gave her an annoyed look, and the other occupants of the room jumped up in alarm at her sudden entry. There were a bunch of sailors inside being treated for minor injuries, probably from the jolt of having the ship being hit by the Chi-class' torpedoes.

Drake sat on the side of a bed in the back of the room, still dressed in his regular officer's uniform and looking relatively unharmed. He had been doing something on his phone but glanced up when Bismarck entered.

The battleship strode over to him. "Admiral! Are you all right!?"

"Yeah, calm down," Drake blushed. "There are other people here, you know…"

Bismarck wore a confused look. "But… Konteradmiral Schumann told me you fell unconscious."

Drake's blush grew deeper as he looked away in embarrassment. "It's nothing serious…"

"What happened?"

"It's nothing. I guess it's just the shock of being back on the battlefield after taking several months off," Drake admitted reluctantly. _And being on a battleship as it's being hit by torpedoes reminds me too much of that day…_

"Oh… So you're all right, then?" Bismarck said with relief.

"Yeah. What about you? You don't look too hurt either."

"I just bruised my ribs slightly, but my Fairies can take care of that," Bismarck said. "Gotland was hurt more than I was, but she should be fine too."

"I see. So it looks like the operation was a success, then," Drake concluded.

"Yes, sir."

A silence then ensued, with Drake still seated on the bed and Bismarck standing in front of him. The high of battle was wearing off, the and two were once again reminded of the strain on their relationship.

Bismarck finally broke the silence. "So… Uh, you wanted to talk to me earlier, right?"

Drake looked down at the floor. "About that… No, it was nothing."

"Oh, I see…"

Nevertheless, neither one of them moved.

"So that's it, then?" Bismarck began quietly. "You'll be returning to America, and I…"

Drake hid his face beneath his cap. "I don't know what you want from me."

"Yes you do, sir," Bismarck looked back at him with hurt eyes. "I know you do. And yet… You -"

"Shut up, Bismarck," Drake cut her off, his voice low. "Don't go any further. I can't be the admiral you want, and things can't go back to how they were in Japan. It's over."

"But why! We just defeated an entire Abyssal fleet today, together!" Bismarck pointed out, feeling betrayed.

"No. You're wrong. All of you are wrong. I'm not what you think I am."

Bismarck was beginning to grow frustrated. "You keep saying that, but -"

"Just stop!" Drake interrupted again.

Bismarck was about to protest, but the words died in her throat as Drake slowly began to stand up. His legs were trembling, and he barely made it halfway up before he collapsed and fell onto the floor.

"Admiral!" Bismarck knelt down beside him.

"Don't!" Drake spat. His fists clenched, he grit his teeth. "Just take a good, hard look. I can't even stand up because my legs won't stop shaking. Even though we won and I wasn't hurt at all, that's how afraid I am. Just the thought of having to fight another battle like this paralyzes me!"

Drake screwed his eyes shut in frustration at his own sorry state. "This is the admiral you so desperately wanted, Bismarck."

Suddenly, he felt a strong pair of arms around him, and before he knew it, he was on his feet. Bismarck steadied him with an arm around his back, and Drake had to put his own arm around her shoulders to maintain his balance.

"You're standing now, aren't you?" Bismarck said, her breath hot in his ear.

"... I'm sorry. I'm pathetic," he managed in a tenuous voice, though his grip around her tightened.

Bismarck put her hand on his chest. "Yes, you may look pathetic right now, but that means nothing. Nobody can be perfect all the time, right?"

"But I…"

"Admiral. Do you know how the _Bismarck_ was sunk?" she asked him. "My rudder was damaged to the point where I could no longer move, and in the end, Germany's greatest battleship was reduced to target practice for the Royal Navy. Because of that, I resolved to live my new life as a ship girl stronger than ever before, and I never wanted to end up like that again. But right when I came to Japan, that dream was crushed when I was dealt a humiliating defeat in front of everyone in my very first practice battle. I was frustrated back then, and that's why I was so angry and hostile at first… But it was you who helped me even when I didn't want to be helped, remember? So now, even if you refuse me, I will not leave your side, Admiral Drake."

Drake remembered the vision he saw of Bismarck sinking before he rushed out of the Reichspolizei Headquarters. During the Battle of Okinawa, Kaga was out there fighting and dying while he remained completely clueless to her struggle, and she had been all alone. He could not let that happen again, no matter how hard it was for him to stand up and keep fighting. That much was obvious, but even so, he was held back by his fear of the Abyssals and his doubt in his own abilities. He also feared Bismarck's immense trust in him. Up until her last moments, Kaga had trusted him with her life, and he had failed her. Then what right did he have to accept Bismarck's trust?

Suddenly, Kaga appeared in his mind. She looked just the way she had when he had last seen her, and surprisingly, she wore one of her exceedingly rare smiles. She spoke to him, but no sound came out of her mouth. Nevertheless, her smile remained strong, and as fleetingly as she had appeared, she was gone. Though Drake did not hear what she said, it was obvious when he looked into those deep brown eyes.

 _"Don't mess up this time, Admiral."_

 _Yeah... You're right._ Slowly, Drake let go of Bismarck, his legs still trembling but not nearly as much as they used to be as he managed to stand on his own. _I may be a disgrace of a sailor who quakes in fear when he faces his enemy, but what will truly make me a coward is_ if _I don't accept the responsibility of Bismarck's trust right here and now._

"Bismarck... If you're willing to go that far for me, then I've got no right to sit here and complain," Drake decided, giving Bismarck a firm look and a smile. "We'll fight together from now on, Bismarck. Always."

Bismarck looked stunned for a brief moment, but she quickly recovered and grinned back at him. "Thank you, sir. You can count on me!"

* * *

Rear Admiral Genji's eyes darted to the phone on his desk as soon as it started ringing, as if he had been expecting the call. Immediately, he picked it up.

"Hello?"

Inside the main office of the Administrative Building, Nagato, Mutsu, and Fleet Admiral Miiro watched him intently. After a few terse seconds, Genji put the phone back down without saying anything. He turned to his comrades with a dark look.

"... The report from the _Meiyo_ is confirmed. Aerial reconnaissance is also saying that she has been sunk."

Nagato frowned. "So there really is an Abyssal fleet heading towards our base… How did they spring up so unexpectedly?"

"It looks like they were traveling underwater for most of the time. We usually use destroyers like _Meiyo_ or other ships outfitted with the proper scanning equipment to detect them, but ever since Okinawa, we've been unable to sortie much," Genji answered.

"So they snuck up on us, huh?" Mutsu looked worried.

Genji scowled and clenched his fist. "It's ridiculous that this was allowed to happen. All because the leadership and naval command are still obsessing over what's going on in Okinawa and are blind to everything else…!"

"Now, now. We can't change that, so let's just focus on dealing with the immediate problem first, right?" Miiro tried to calm him down. "We should sortie to defend the base…"

"Of course. The enemy fleet is large, though. We will probably have to sortie every ship girl at the base," he said.

"If what the _Meiyo_ said is true, then that is likely," Nagato agreed. "Where is the enemy right now?"

"They're sailing towards the Izu Islands. Tokyo itself is going to be threatened soon, and yet I guarantee we won't be given any support from the rest of the fleet," Genji growled in frustration.

"Regular ships and planes won't be much help anyway, and Sasebo is still trying to reorganize. Perhaps it is for the best," Miiro pointed out.

Genji scoffed at that. "I doubt it. But you were right when you said there is no use in complaining. Nagato, I will make the announcement to the base. Get the fleets ready to sortie. We are heading out as soon as possible."

"Yes, sir," Nagato saluted and then left the room with her sister.

The two battleships walked out of the Administrative Building and headed towards the Equipment Building, where the fleet should be gathering as soon as Genji made the announcement.

"Um… Are you sure this is all right?" Mutsu asked as they walked.

"What do you mean?" Nagato glanced back at her.

"Well… The enemy fleet is pretty big. Can we really defeat them by ourselves?"

Nagato stopped, causing Mutsu to do so as well. She turned around to face her younger sister.

"What you really want to ask is if we can really beat them after our humiliating defeat in Okinawa, right?" Nagato said. "That is the thought on everyone's mind, of course. The fact that the Abyssals have taken over Okinawa completely and are now systematically eradicating the population is possibly the biggest humiliation in Japan's history."

Mutsu frowned. "I didn't mean to sound _that_ hopeless…"

Nagato smirked at her. "Yes, but it's evident in your tone, isn't it? And as I said, everyone is feeling the same way as you. But we have to focus not on our past defeats, but on our future victories… Look at us now."

Truly enough, neither Nagato nor Mutsu looked the same way as they did several months ago. Both of them were now clad in regal-looking black coats, an aesthetic change that came with their Kai Ni remodels.

"We are not the same as we were back then," Nagato firmly stated. "We've got new riggings and new guns, and now the only thing we are lacking is a new resolve to fight. We have no reason to fear anymore, Mutsu."

Mutsu sighed. "You're right. Those who sunk in the last battle will never get the chance to be remodeled, so I guess we have to fight twice as hard for their sake."

"That's the spirit!" Nagato approved with a nod. "Now, let's get to the Equipment Building. We need to coordinate the fleet."

Nagato and Mutsu arrived at the Equipment Building shortly after Genji made his base-wide announcement. They were the first ones there, so the building was mostly empty save for a few engineers and the receptionist, but slowly the ship girls of the Tokyo Bay Base began trickling in and forming up in their respective fleets. Within half an hour, the lobby of the building was packed with ship girls talking excitedly and nervously to each other.

Nagato went up the head of the formation and cleared her throat loudly, a signal to everyone to stop talking. When the chatter died down, she began.

"Fleet! We have recently received word of an Abyssal incursion heading directly towards our base!" she announced in her authoritative tone. "The enemy fleet is composed of about thirty destroyers, twenty light cruisers, ten heavy cruisers, ten battleships, ten aircraft carriers, and two Princesses! If they break through our ranks, they will have a chance to strike at Tokyo itself! We cannot allow that to happen!"

The ship girls broke out into a panicked chatter again after hearing the composition of the enemy fleet.

"Two Princesses! What the hell, desu!" Kongou cried out.

"How are we supposed to win against a fleet like that?!" Murasame demanded to know, exasperated.

The rest of the ship girls echoed those sentiments, and the cacophony in the room grew louder.

"Quiet!" Nagato yelled, forcing the room into an uneasy silence. "What is wrong with you all? Are you really ready to give up before the battle has even begun?"

"We have to know our limits. This just doesn't seem possible," Ise spoke up.

Nagato crossed her arms. "Then what do you propose we do? Retreat? Retreat to where? What will happen to the people of Tokyo? Do you want our capital to end up like Okinawa has?"

"Nobody wants that, obviously, but who's to say that it won't happen anyway even if we stay here and fight?" Hyuuga supported her sister. "The way it looks right now, the Abyssals are just going to sink us and then destroy Tokyo anyway. We need more support."

"Sasebo is mobilizing, but given the state of their base, they won't be here for a while. Other than that, we will get no support," Nagato told the fleet. "That's just how it is. Whining will change nothing, and our only two choices are to protect our country or to run away. Well?"

"You're just using Japan as a prop for this doomed venture! You're no different from the commanders who lost us the War!" Hiyou accused her.

A few other voices murmured in assent, and Nagato bit her lip as she sensed she was losing control of the situation.

"Nagato… It's obvious that you feel responsible for our navy now that Yamato is no longer alive, but… You might want to rethink this," Kongou said, using a softer approach.

"I can't. Besides, the admirals decided to sortie, not me," Nagato countered.

"But you have the most influence among us ship girls, and you can tell them that the fleet isn't prepared to fight," Kirishima pointed out.

Nagato wavered. Could it be that they were right, and that she was just being rash? Were they truly not ready to face the Abyssals again?

Akagi stepped forward and turned to face the fleet. "Before we make a decision, let's remember that everyone here has been remodeled. As someone who has been in combat with the enemy since the remodel procedure, I can say that we are definitely stronger than we used to be. We should not be giving up without a fight."

"I agree," Yamashiro declared. "We must crush the Abyssals for what they did to our comrades!"

"I'll kill every single one of them myself if I have to," Shigure growled.

"You may accuse me of using Japan and its people as a prop all you want, but first, take a look inside yourselves," Nagato said. "What are your own feelings towards our country? Don't you have a desire to protect Japan even if no one told you to do so? Don't forget that we ship girls were born out of the strong feelings of those who fought in World War II. Don't you hear their voices crying out inside of you, begging you to protect what they couldn't?"

The room fell silent again, and many of the ship girls wore conflicted looks on their faces.

"Well… I guess if some of us are going to go anyway, it would be better if we all went, right?" Kongou asked. "We should at least maximize our chances of victory even if they're really low, desu."

Ise sighed in defeat. "Yeah. Running away was never a real option in the first place, was it?"

"Yes! We will sail with all our might and crush the enemy!" Hiei declared, energized by her sister's change of heart.

The rest of the fleet began talking among themselves again, and it was evident that the tone had shifted. They would fight the Abyssals.

"All right, everyone!" Nagato called out. "We need to set sail as soon as possible! Finish all your preparations and meet at the docks as quickly as you can!"

* * *

Fleet Admiral Van Dyke sat in his darkened office, lazily dragging on a cigarette as he leaned back in his chair with his eyes closed. The peace was interrupted by a ringing noise from the phone on his desk. Reluctantly, he opened one eye and glanced at the receiver.

' _Unknown Number'? That's strange,_ he thought, putting out his cigarette and sitting up. _This phone is for official use within the navy only, so there is no way someone could just accidentally call it. Could it be Rear Admiral Drake…? No, he has my cell phone number already and I never even gave him the office number._

Curious, Van Dyke picked up the phone. "Hello? Who is this?"

" _Ah, hello? Fleet Admiral Van Dyke, I presume?"_ an accented voice said on the other end.

"Who is this? How did you get this number?" Van Dyke asked again in his usual gruff tone. Since the caller knew his name, it was clear that this wasn't an accidental call.

" _My apologies. This is Obergruppenfuhrer Thomas Mann of the Reichspolizei."_

"The Reichspolizei?" Van Dyke repeated in surprise. _Huh. German intelligence must be pretty good if they could even get this number…_

" _Yes. Excuse my intrusion, but I thought you would like to know that your Rear Admiral Drake has defeated the Abyssal forces that assaulted Lubeck."_

"Oh? Abyssal forces attacked Germany?"

" _... Are you seriously trying to play dumb, Fleet Admiral Van Dyke?"_

Van Dyke smirked to himself. "Well, it was worth a try. How did you know?"

" _It was obvious. The Reichspolizei is skilled in uncovering secret plots, but even a simpleton could have figured out your plan here,"_ Mann said.

"Is that so? Then why didn't you try and stop it?"

" _I suppose it was only obvious once we got word of the Abyssal attack, and at that point it was too late for me to stop it,"_ Mann admitted. " _There was also the chance that Rear Admiral Drake would die, or that he would not even go at all."_

"So you left it up to fate? Doesn't sound like something you Reichspolizei would do," Van Dyke said.

" _You faced those very same risks by sending Rear Admiral Drake to Lubeck without telling him there was an impending Abyssal attack. Shouldn't you be more careful considering you are one of the heads of the US Navy?"_ Mann countered.

"Heh. It was necessary for Drake's development. He had to make this decision on his own, and it would have been ruined if I had given him an order to prepare for an Abyssal attack," Van Dyke explained.

" _I see. Regardless, there is still the fact that you knew about an imminent enemy attack on Germany and yet failed to warn us in advance. Do you realize how that appears when the United States is supposed to be our ally?"_

"Don't be ridiculous. I did send Rear Admiral Drake to assist you, after all," Van Dyke told him. "Also, why do you think the Swedish Ice Navy got there so quickly? Who do you think called them?"

" _Do you actually think that makes up for it?"_

"Yes. You won the battle, didn't you?"

" _And one destroyer was sunk, lost with all hands thanks to your Admiral Drake's strategy."_

"Hm, so it was Drake who came up with the successful battle plan?" Van Dyke smiled victoriously after hearing that.

" _... Yes, I will admit that much. And to be entirely fair, perhaps his plan resulted in fewer casualties than a plan developed by our own Konteradmiral Schumann would have since he has had very little experience fighting Abyssals and commanding ship girls. None of that changes the fact that it was completely inappropriate for you to withhold information from us."_

"And what about Bismarck?" Van Dyke probed.

" _She performed well, as expected. Her remodel seems to have served its purpose. Now are you going to take responsibility for this or not, Fleet Admiral?"_

 _Hm… Maybe this guy doesn't know as much as I thought,_ Van Dyke observed after listening to Mann's reply.

"Come now, everything worked out in the end, didn't it?" Van Dyke continued to smile smugly to himself. "Besides, even if this information became public, it wouldn't do much good for anyone, would it? All it would do is turn Germany and the United States against each other, which is detrimental in long term."

" _Except that your entire plan here was to bring Bismarck out of Germany and get her back on Rear Admiral Drake's side. Not only have you subverted the proper military and diplomatic channels when it comes to an Abyssal attack, you have also tried to rob Germany of its most prolific ship girl,"_ Mann accused.

"Hah, I don't know what to say to that," Van Dyke remarked. "But either way, it doesn't matter. As you have probably figured out by now, I only answered this call because this line is made with the same technology that the Fairies developed for our naval communications, and so it cannot be heard through recordings or tapes. There isn't anything you can do with this information without escalating things anyway."

" _And one again, I am forced to admit that you are correct,"_ Mann replied bitterly. " _Your strategy has played out as you had hoped, Fleet Admiral Van Dyke. I can see why the Citizen's Council places such confidence in you. However, do not think that I will forget this._ Auf Wiedersehen _."_

The call then ended, and Van Dyke put down the receiver.

 _So Admiral Drake did it…_

Van Dyke had been a bit worried that Drake wouldn't be up to the task, but he was glad that that was proven to be not true. His decision all those months ago to pick Drake for the Kancolle Program had been validated, and from now on, Drake would be stronger than he was before.

Picking up the phone again, Van Dyke began dialing a different number.

 _Looks like you're getting your wish, Rear Admiral. You will be going back to Japan after all._

* * *

Shoukaku narrowed her eyes in apprehension as she looked out towards the horizon where the sun was beginning to set. She, along with the rest of the Tokyo Bay Base's ship girls, was currently sailing to intercept the Abyssal fleet, which was steadily making its way towards the Japanese mainland.

"Is there a problem, Shoukaku?" Zuikaku, who was sailing beside her sister, asked.

"The Abyssal fleet. It's a large one," Shoukaku answered, viewing the enemy fleet through the eyes of her scout planes. Their black forms stood out against the orange blaze of the setting sun, and they sailed uniformly towards the ship girls, though they were not in visual range yet.

"We already knew that, didn't we?" Zuikaku pointed out. "At least the good news is that there don't seem to be any enemies on our peripheries according to my scouts, so we can focus fully on the fleet in front of us."

 _Yes, but will that be enough?_ Shoukaku thought over their strategy.

Developed by Rear Admiral Genji and his superiors in Naval Command, the 'comb plan' was essentially a plot to drag the Abyssals through the Izu Island chain and continuously assault them with more and more firepower, hopefully destroying them before they reached Tokyo. As previous experience had taught them, the Abyssals seemed to prefer the Izu Islands route when attacking Japan because it provided a direct line to the capital, and so the admiralty had outfitted the island chain accordingly.

The military had placed missile launchers on every single island in the vicinity, and missiles on the mainland and in Tokyo Bay were ready and waiting if the Abyssals got too close as well. Though human-made missiles did not work well on Abyssals and were often shot down, they were still effective at doing a lot of damage on the rare occasions they did hit, and it is entirely possible to hit an Abyssal with a human-made weapon if the Abyssal is distracted. The ship girls were the distraction. Of course, it would be ideal if the ship girls could take out as many Abyssals as possible, but given their low numbers, their main role would be to continuously engage the Abyssals in a fighting retreat, dragging the Abyssals closer and closer to Tokyo. Meanwhile, as the Abyssals passed through the island chain and drew nearer to the mainland, the missile sites posted up along the way would be firing on them, thinning out their numbers. By the time the Abyssals actually reach Tokyo, they would hopefully be so depleted that the the ship girls would be able to finish them off. The Sasebo base, whose ship girls were mobilizing as quickly as possible, would also join the battle at some point.

 _This plan is probably the best they could come up with on such short notice,_ Shoukaku decided. _Besides, it's not an entirely bad strategy… I just don't like how close we are allowing them to get to Tokyo, and how we are relying on human weapons instead of the ship girls…_

"You look lost. Are you sure you're all right?" Zuikaku asked again with a frown.

Shoukaku tried to push away her doubts. "Yes, I'm fine. I'm just a bit worried about how the operation will go. Surely that's understandable."

"It's understandable, yeah, but you're the flagship, at least of this fleet. You can't let them see doubt on your face," Zuikaku said.

 _Maybe that's true._ Shoukaku again took a look through her planes, admiring the sunset-tinted scenery of the Izu Island chain and its surrounding waters in spite of the situation. One of her planes flew past Hachijo-jima, and she felt a bit of nostalgia when she took in the sight of the bay in the waning sunlight.

 _Admiral… What would you do if you were here?_ Shoukaku tried to get rid of those thoughts as well. It had been months since Drake had left, and he likely wasn't ever coming back. Besides, this fleet had done well on their own in Australia. They didn't need Drake to be successful.

Shoukaku clutched her bow tightly. _But it wouldn't hurt to have him back._

" _Enemy fleet is coming into visual range. Prepare for combat!"_ Nagato ordered over the radio from her position at the head of the formation. " _Remember that our objective is to draw them in. We must make it seem like we are retreating and get them to follow us back towards Tokyo. Under no circumstances is anyone to press too far forward!"_

Shoukaku tried to refocus on the battle as she called her planes back to her. Since this was a defensive battle, she was supposed to only send out a few fighters as skirmishers in order to draw in the Abyssal air force. Most of the aerial battle would be done under the cover of her escorting destroyers and light cruisers so they could provide anti-air support.

"The enemy carriers have launched their planes! Get ready!" Zuikaku warned.

 _At least they're taking the bait,_ Shoukaku thought as she ordered her planes to intercept.

The other ships in the fleet also began shelling the enemy, and likewise, Abyssal shots started raining down near the front of the ship girl formation.

"Forwards! Crush them!" Shoukaku heard Yamashiro yell in rage as she sailed past her with surprisingly fast speed.

 _Didn't Nagato say not to go too far forward?_ Shoukaku thought disapprovingly as she watched the furious aviation battleship. Ever since Fusou had sunk in the Battle of Okinawa, Yamashiro had never really been the same, and it was clear that she was letting her desire for revenge overtake her senses.

 _Nothing I can do about it, I suppose. She's not even in my fleet. I'm sure Nagato will handle her,_ Shoukaku assumed.

However, she then saw Shigure sailing past her as well, the destroyer's blue eyes glowing ferociously. Evidently she was bent on joining Yamashiro's charge as well.

"Shigure! Where are you going!" Shoukaku called out to her, but the destroyer ignored her.

Murasame and Yamakaze sailed up beside Shoukaku.

"Sorry, we tried to stop her!" Murasame told the carrier. "She and Yamashiro insisted on fighting on the very frontlines instead of staying in formation…"

Shoukaku sighed. "Hopefully they don't go too far out… Those two seem to have lost their minds as of late."

"Yeah… As you know, Shigure's been like this since the remodel, and Yamashiro was always obsessed with Fusou, so…" Murasame trailed off as she looked off towards the front of the fleet.

"W-Will they be all right?" Yamakaze asked apprehensively, almost as if she were scared to hear the answer.

Shoukaku's frown deepened. "After the meeting with the Abyssals on Hachijo-jima, we learned why and how ship girls and Abyssals were created. Ship girls are borne from positive emotions and Abyssals from negative, but Fusou and Shigure certainly don't seem to be following that tenet anymore. I don't know what's going to happen, but it certainly can't be good."

"Shoukaku! You can't just say that!" Zuikaku chided after noticing the horrified looks on Murasame's and Yamakaze's faces.

"It's the truth. It will only hurt more if it's concealed," Shoukaku replied back sharply. "Besides, acknowledging the problem is the first step to solving it. But now's not the time for that. We need to focus on the battle, got that, Murasame, Yamakaze? Give Shigure fire support and try and keep her from doing anything stupid."

"Yes, ma'am!" Murasame affirmed as she and Yamakaze hurriedly sailed after Shigure.

"Can they really control her?" Zuikaku asked, casting an apprehensive look at the destroyers.

"I don't know. But though Shigure has definitely changed since her remodel, the one thing that hasn't changed is her love for her sisters," Shoukaku said. "Hopefully that will be enough."

Shoukaku and Zuikaku then went silent as Akagi sailed up to them. The red-clothed carrier wore a stony expression as her long, dark hair blew behind her in the breeze. A few of her fighters buzzed angrily overhead, and her remodeled gray flight deck glinted in the last remaining rays of sunlight.

"Have you two finished scouting the area?" Akagi asked, her voice strained.

"Yes. The enemy composition is mostly as we expected, and Rear Admiral Genji has ordered that our strategy remain the same," Shoukaku answered apprehensively.

Akagi's expression darkened. "Right. Did you see that the Airfield Princess is part of the enemy force?"

Shoukaku and Zuikaku remained silent, both of them avoiding Akagi's eyes.

"Well? Nothing to say?" Akagi asked with a slight edge in her tone. "We need to sink her. You understand that, correct?"

"... Our strategy doesn't change. We need to draw the Abyssals into our envelope, and then once we've done that, we will sink them all, including the Airfield Princess," Shoukaku said.

"Do you seriously think human weapons can sink her?" Akagi scowled. "After having fought her before, do you actually think that this sort of soft defensive strategy that relies upon the weapons that have failed to kill even standard Abyssals in the past can sink the Airfield Princess? We need to destroy her ourselves, with our own hands and our own planes!"

Shoukaku refused to budge, though her expression also became tense. "If you're so confident of the Airfield Princess' power, then you know that the three of us alone can't sink her. We have to use our own abilities in conjunction with the plan -"

"I don't give a fuck about the plan!" Akagi interrupted. "Don't forget that all three of us have been remodeled! This is our chance to take our revenge! We will assault her and sink her right here and now!"

"We will not! I am the flagship, not you!" Shoukaku shouted back, losing her calm as well.

"Stop!" Zuikaku finally interjected, stepping in between the two carriers. "Are you two insane, fighting at a time and place like this!? Whether we've been remodeled or not, we will never be able to beat the Airfield Princess if we're not acting as a cohesive unit!"

Akagi and Shoukaku backed off, though both of them still wore frustrated looks.

"This is what I suggest we do," Zuikaku started, "we stick to the plan for now. Fighting the Airfield Princess in open waters when she still has a full escort fleet is too dangerous. But, when we've pulled the Abyssal fleet within range of our surface assets, we should take that chance to strike the Airfield Princess and finish her off. Akagi is right in saying that we can't rely on the humans to sink her, but attacking her head-on right at the start of the battle won't work. What I propose is that we radio the humans to temporarily focus their fire to her aft, therefore preventing her retreat and not letting her see what's going on behind her. Meanwhile, we will send all our planes around the wall of fire, positioning them to hit the Airfield Princess' back as soon as we radio the humans to stop their attack. It will be a mobile assault from the direction the Airfield Princess is least expecting since there will be no reason for her to cover her back if there are no ship girls there and the humans are just hitting the water behind her."

"... I suppose that is acceptable," Shoukaku assented. "In that case, we should plan to be a bit more conservative with our planes so that we can face her at full strength."

Akagi nodded. "Then it's settled. But I have to admit, I'm surprised you came up with a plan like that so quickly, Zuikaku."

"It wasn't really that quick. I've been thinking about it ever since I first spotted the Airfield Princess with my scouts," Zuikaku said, her eyes blazing with fury as she clenched her fists. "Besides… You're not the only one who wants to kill that bitch. I'll send her to the bottom of the ocean tonight!"


	50. Fate's Hand IV

"I can't believe they couldn't even spare one car," Drake complained as he walked out of the Lubeck Naval Base with Bismarck by his side. The guardpost was deserted, and so they were able to simply stroll past the main gate and exit out onto the streets of the city.

"It's not so bad. The night air is nice, isn't it?" Bismarck smiled optimistically. She had changed back into her Reichspolizei uniform.

"Yeah, I guess. There's barely anyone out on the streets right now since the city authorities announced the Abyssal attack, so at least it's not crowded," he said.

After repelling the Abyssal attack, the German fleet had returned to port, whereupon the sailors got to work moving the wounded to the hospital and dealing with the fallout of the attack. Gotland had returned to her carrier after saying farewell to Bismarck and introducing herself to Drake, and the Swedish Ice Navy quickly departed to their own home waters. There also seemed to be an immense amount of paperwork and logging that needed to be done, and Konteradmiral Schumann had been rushing around like mad when he heard that Admiral Helmholtz was sending envoys to Lubeck to get a full report on the situation.

Due to all this, Drake had been pretty much forgotten by the Kriegsmarine, and so he decided that instead of waiting around as the Germans sorted through their work, he would go back to his room at the Reichspolizei headquarters and get some much needed rest. Though he was physically unharmed, the events of the day had left him feeling extremely drained, which contributed to his annoyance when he couldn't find anyone who would drive him back to the Reichspolizei building.

Bismarck had decided to come with him, which surprised Drake because he thought that she would have to remain at the base. She assured him that it was fine and that she could leave, though.

"... Are you sure you were allowed to just leave like that?" Drake asked again, finding that hard to believe now that he thought about it.

" _Ja_. Nobody ever said I had to stay," Bismarck simply answered.

"Uh, that doesn't mean that you were allowed to leave," he replied. "Whatever. They'd probably just torture you with reports and paperworks anyway."

"Yes, I got enough of that with you back in Japan," Bismarck teased.

Drake shot her an unamused look, then turned pensive. "Speaking of Japan… Would you want to go back there?"

"Back with you, you mean?" Bismarck asked.

"Yeah."

"Of course I would. You haven't already forgotten what I told you earlier today, right?" Bismarck reminded him.

"No, I haven't," Drake said, looking away as a slight blush crept to his face. He had been so caught up in the moment that he didn't fully register Bismarck's words until now.

"W-Why are you blushing?" Bismarck asked, but then when Drake turned his brown eyes back to her, a red flush spread across her face as well.

"I could ask you the same thing!" he shot back. _Guess she didn't realize either…_

The two of them walked in silence for a minute before Bismarck spoke again.

"Admiral. Would you care to make a stop before we returned to headquarters?"

"A stop? Where?"

"Just follow me."

The two of them continued walking through the streets of Lubeck, the night air cool on their skin and the stars shining overhead. People were slowly beginning to come back onto the streets again, though the city was still less busy than usual. Drake followed Bismarck, his eyes mesmerized by the way her long, blonde hair moved ever so slightly in the breeze.

Bismarck stopped in front of a small cafe on one of the cobblestone streets. Like the rest of the city, the area had an old, rustic charm to it, and in the near distance, the famous Holsten Gate could be seen jutting into the midnight blue sky.

"A cafe? What's so special about it?" Drake wondered.

"Nothing. Aren't you hungry? We haven't had anything to eat all day," Bismarck pointed out.

Now that she mentioned it, he supposed that he was. "All right, I guess."

The two entered the small shop, and an elderly man who Drake assumed was the owner greeted them. He seemed surprised at Drake's uniform and at the fact that they were here in spite of the Abyssal attack warning, but he also appeared to be glad to have customers again after an afternoon of lost business. Bismarck spoke to him in German, and she requested a table outside by the street. Since the cafe was completely empty, they were seated immediately and had their orders taken fairly quickly.

"Have you been here before?" Drake asked.

She shook her head. "I don't usually go out into the city that often."

"They don't let you out of the HQ building? That's awful."

"No, it's not that, it's just that…" Bismarck trailed off.

"What is it?" Drake pressed, noting her hesitation.

 _The last time I was able to freely wander a city like this was in Andermatt… It was fun,_ Bismarck remembered. _But even so… I can't forget anything that happened later that day. Whenever I think about going out to explore Lubeck, I can't shake this sense of guilt…_

She was reminded of how she shot down the insurgents and watched their crimson blood spill out onto the white snow right in front of her, and the haunting image of Pachelbel's lifeless eyes reflecting the clear Alpine sky also entered into her mind.

"Bismarck? Are you all right…?"

"Y-Yeah, it's nothing, I'm fine!" Bismarck hurriedly replied with a nervous smile. "But… There is one thing I have been wondering about for a while now. What do you think will happen to the ship girls when the Abyssals are defeated?"

"Aren't you getting ahead of yourself? How do you know they will be defeated in the first place?" Drake countered.

Bismarck gave him a flat look. "I appreciate your pessimism, sir, but for the sake of the question, please assume that it is possible."

Drake sighed and shook his head. "Fine, whatever. I obviously don't know the exact answer to that question since it's not up to me, but I assume each ship girl will just remain the service of their respective navies. That would make the most sense, right?"

"So we will be fighting forever?" Bismarck asked with a frown.

"If the Abyssals are dead, then no," Drake replied. "A peacetime navy doesn't really do anything too dangerous."

"Just because the Abyssals are gone doesn't mean that Germany faces no more threats," Bismarck pointed out, her gaze falling.

Drake rested his cheek on his palm as he regarded her from across the table. "You… You've done some work for the Reichspolizei, haven't you?"

 _Ah, he figured it out._ "Yes. You're perceptive, sir," Bismarck admitted.

Drake smirked at her. "Well, there are a few things I'm good at. So I take it you didn't exactly enjoy what they made you do? I don't know what type of missions the Reichspolizei goes on, but it can't be too different from what the CIA does in the US."

"It wasn't too bad, it's just that… It was different," Bismarck said unsurely. "I had to accompany two other officers to Switzerland in order to arrest some insurgents, but it turned out to be a trap and one of the officers was killed. I also had to shoot the insurgents, and it… It just felt different from fighting the Abyssals."

Drake couldn't exactly relate to her because he had never killed another person with his own two hands, but he certainly did understand the guilt of letting people die through your actions.

"So you don't want to go back to the Reichspolizei when the war is over, is that it?" Drake asked.

"I'm still a warship. I'm meant to fight on the seas with my cannons," Bismarck firmly stated. "If I'm needed to do jobs outside of that, then I will, but…"

"Like I said, you're getting ahead of yourself," Drake repeated. "But on the chance that we somehow beat the Abyssals and we both survive the war, how about you work for me? I mean, you're already used to it, so…"

Bismarck blinked as a light blush spread across her cheeks. "You mean, go home with you when the war ends?"

"Okay, don't put it like that," Drake resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "I don't know, we could start a fishing business or go into commercial shipping or something. You'd like to stay on the water, right?"

" _Ja_ , that does sound nice, I suppose," Bismarck nodded. "But I doubt the Kriegsmarine will let me go that easily. I also still have a duty to my country, and if they need me, then I can't leave even if I don't like what they make me do. I also don't think they would be happy with Germany's most famous battleship leaving with an American…"

"Oh? Not too long ago you would have been of the same mind," Drake said, almost gloating. "Would the Fuhrer approve of this, Bismarck?"

"S-Shut up! Don't bring the Fuhrer into this!" Bismarck retorted in embarrassment.

"All right, settle down. I was just joking," Drake tried to hold back his amused grin. "But seriously. You fought with me up to this point, and you'll always have a place by my side after the war ends. So don't worry yourself over things like that."

Bismarck blushed even harder at that, and she quickly hid her face underneath her cap. " _Danke_ , sir."

A waiter then arrived with their food and drinks, and the pair spent the rest of their time in the cafe catching up on what they were up to in the past several months. Soon they were finished and walking back to the headquarters building.

As they reached the entrance of the building, Drake felt his phone vibrating in his pocket.

"Who is that?" Bismarck asked as Drake pulled his phone out.

"It's my superior. I have to take this," he replied as he answered the phone. Belatedly he realized that he had not told Fleet Admiral Van Dyke about anything that happened today. "Hello?"

" _Rear Admiral. I heard about the Abyssal attack. Good job on helping repel them."_

 _Oh, so he already knows?_ "Thank you, sir. I will give you a full report as soon as I get back to headquarters."

" _Please do. Aside from that, how is Bismarck doing? I assumed you were her commander for this sortie?"_

Drake glanced at Bismarck, who returned his gaze with a curious look of her own.

"Yes, sir. She performed well," Drake simply answered.

" _I see… Well, Admiral Drake, I would like to give you some time to rest, but unfortunately war waits for no one. The Abyssals are attacking Japan."_

"Japan? Where, sir?"

" _They are assaulting Tokyo again. The developments are fairly recent, so the enemy fleet is only just now heading towards the Izu Island chain. You have had combat experience in Japan, specifically in that island chain as well, so I would like to send you there to help. Are you up to it?"_

"Yes, sir." _I won't hesitate anymore._

" _Good. In that case, get ready to fly out tomorrow afternoon. Take the earliest train to Hamburg you can, and we will handle the rest. Also, take Bismarck with you."_

 _Take Bismarck? And just how am I supposed to convince the German authorities of that?_ He thought.

"But sir, I -" Drake started to protest, but he cut himself off as he stole another look at Bismarck.

"What is it?" she asked, a bit of worry creeping into her voice. Her beautiful blue eyes reflected the starry night sky of northern Germany, and Drake found it hard to look away.

"Understood, sir. I will proceed to Hamburg in the morning, then."

Drake hung up the phone. _Yeah. I promised her that we would always fight together from now on, and I don't care what I need to do to keep that promise._

"Bismarck. The Abyssals have attacked our base in Japan," he said to her. "I'm being sent over there tomorrow. Will you come with me?"

She smiled. "Of course, sir."

An indescribable feeling welled up in Drake's chest as he heard her answer, even though he was already sure of what she was going to say.

The two of them then entered the Reichspolizei headquarters and walked up to the floor with their rooms on it, discussing the plan for tomorrow as they went.

"Uh, so what are we going to do about the Reichspolizei and the Kriegsmarine?" Bismarck asked as they walked up the stairs.

"About that… I'm not sure," Drake admitted sheepishly. "Just come with me to Hamburg tomorrow, and if anyone asks, just say you're seeing me off. We can deal with the consequences after we defeat the Abyssals."

"I'm not so sure that will work… What if the Reichspolizei has me followed? Won't they try and stop me from getting on the plane?"

"Can they really stop a literal battleship?" Drake pointed out.

"I suppose not, haha."

The pair stopped when they got to Drake's room. The American admiral pulled his key from his pocket, and held his door opened as he turned to say goodnight to Bismarck.

"Okay, meet me in front of my room tomorrow at seven. We'll leave then," he said to her.

"Understood," Bismarck replied.

But neither one of them moved after that, and Drake just stood there in his doorway. Drake was about to say goodnight for good, but he noticed Bismarck was avoiding his gaze and that a blush had started to creep up on her face again. Drake's heart started pounding so hard that he could barely breathe.

" _Amerikanisch Schweinn!_ You're here again!"

The sudden interruption nearly made Drake jump out of his skin, and Bismarck too almost lost her balance at the angry German coming from the other end of the hall.

Drake stepped out of his doorway and shut the door behind him, turning to see two familiar faces. Vice Admirals Ehrhard and Bremerhaven walked towards the pair, the former with an extremely annoyed look on his face.

Bismarck immediately snapped to a salute, and Drake merely frowned in distaste.

"What do you want? Was one punch not enough?" Drake couldn't help but goad.

Bremerhaven stepped in front of Ehrhard. "Rear Admiral Drake. Please refrain from insults, and I will control my comrade as well. Is that agreeable?"

"I guess," Drake shrugged. "But what are you two doing here?"

"We should be asking you that! You Americans just think you can go anywhere and do anything, is that right?" Ehrhard accused furiously.

Bremerhaven said something to Ehrhard in German, his soft but firm tone slowly cooling the shorter German admiral's anger. Bremerhaven then turned back to Drake.

" _Entschuldigung_. We are here in response to the Abyssal attack earlier today," Bremerhaven answered Drake's question.

"The battle is over," Drake simply stated. He badly wanted to point out that he had been the one commanding in the operation as well, but he really didn't need to incense them any further.

"Yes, it is over, but there is still some administrative work to be done, so the admiralty sent us here anyway," Bremerhaven said. "May I ask what you are doing here, Rear Admiral?"

"Uh, I was here for a meeting," Drake answered, not wanting to tell them that he had initially been sent here for the trivial logistics committee. "I just happened to be in the right place at the right time to help repel the Abyssal attack, though, so it worked out well."

"Oh, yes, what a coincidence," Ehrhard droned sarcastically.

"Please ignore him, Admiral Drake," Bremerhaven let out an uncharacteristic sigh of defeat. He then looked at Bismarck. "You fought as well, Bismarck?"

"Yes, sir. Admiral Drake was a big help," Bismarck answered.

"I see… Thank you, Rear Admiral," Bremerhaven nodded to him. "Now that we are here, however, your services are no longer required. We will ensure you receive compensation for your efforts and we will handle the cleanup for the operation."

"I don't need compensation. Aren't we all still a part of International Fleet Command? I'm just doing my job," Drake replied. "And speaking of that, I don't know if you two have heard, but the Abyssals are attacking Japan now. I'm going over tomorrow to see if I can help."

"Japan?" Ehrhard looked confused, which made it evident that he had not in fact heard the news.

"Admirals. I would like to help as well," Bismarck then said, apparently realizing that any chance of sneaking out was ruined now. "I used to be a part of that base in Japan, and I have a duty to fight for their defense as I did here today."

Ehrhard stared at her dumbly. "Are you out of your mind, Bismarck? You can't go to Japan one day after there was an attack here!"

"Japan has the largest ship girl fleet. I am sure they will be fine. We may need you here," Bremerhaven agreed with his colleague.

"I doubt the Abyssals are going to attack the same place two days in a row. They've never done that before," Drake pointed out. "Again let me remind you that we are all part of the International Fleet. We should be assisting each other whenever we can."

Bremerhaven looked troubled. "I understand, but this is a direct order from Admiral Helmholtz. We cannot disobey it."

Ehrhard turned to Drake with a scowl. "I bet you're the one who convinced her to go with you! Just what did you say to her!"

"It's my own choice, sir," Bismarck said.

"And just why are you making choices that go against your orders, then?" Ehrhard questioned her.

"Gentlemen, what's all the fuss about?"

The group turned to see Obergruppenfuhrer Mann walking towards them, his uniform in perfect condition as always and a mysterious smile on his face.

"Obergruppenfuhrer. Apologies for the disturbance," Bremerhaven greeted.

"Vice Admirals. Good to see you," Mann returned. He then glanced at Bismarck and Drake. "I see you two made it back from the battle. Congratulations."

"Oh, uh, thank you," Drake replied, though he was not too happy at having another German official to deal with.

"So, what is the argument here about?" Mann then asked again.

"Bismarck says she wants to go to Japan tomorrow!" Ehrhard immediately blurted.

"Ah, the Abyssal attack. Yes, how unfortunate," Mann nodded sympathetically, understanding what Ehrhard was talking about. "But I fail to see the issue here. She is part of the International Fleet, no?"

Drake and Bismarck were both surprised to hear Mann taking their side, and Ehrhard and Bremerhaven were equally shocked that he was going against them.

"W-What? Do you realize what you're saying?" Ehrhard stammered in disbelief.

Mann looked unperturbed. "Of course I do. Isn't it a good opportunity to show the world that Germany honors its commitments and that we are dedicated to international safety? That we remain strong and healthy even after just suffering an attack ourselves? Besides, what do you think the Americans and Japanese will say if they find out we had the chance to help but chose not to?"

"I must admit, those are good points, but you can't simply circumvent the chain of command like this," Ehrhard said. "Bismarck is under the command of the Kriegsmarine, and she has only been lent to the Reichspolizei temporarily. We still hold the final say."

"Mm, I don't believe so," Mann smiled pleasantly, though his eyes held no hint of kindness. "I will authorize for her to go to Japan tomorrow. If you want to overrule me, you will have to fill out the paperwork formally transferring her back to the Kriegsmarine. The 'chain of command' as you said, Vice Admiral."

Ehrhard threw up his hands as he gave up. "Fine, then. I will direct Admiral Helmholtz to you when he asks why Bismarck has left Germany again."

"And I will simply direct him to the Americans," Mann smiled, though Drake didn't miss the strange look he gave him. "Actually, you two should go with her. Why not?"

"We would need permission from the admiralty," Bremerhaven frowned.

"Nonsense. Commanders should be bold during wartime, isn't that so?" Mann teased. "If you two are so concerned at letting Bismarck go, then why not accompany her?"

"It is as you say, Obergruppenfuhrer. I will contact Admiral Helmholtz immediately," Bremerhaven nodded. "Admiral Drake, please meet us at this spot tomorrow morning."

Bremerhaven and Ehrhard then left in a hurry.

"Well, that ended nicely," Mann smiled again. "Good luck to you, Admiral Drake. Germany's finest battleship is in your hands."

"Understood," Drake nodded to him before he too left.

"That was… Unexpected," Bismarck said. "I didn't think the Obergruppenfuhrer would let me go…"

"Maybe he has some ulterior motive, or just knows something we don't," Drake replied. "We can worry about that later. For now, we should probably just prepare for tomorrow."

"You're right. _Gute nacht,_ sir."

Bismarck went off to her own room, and Drake sighed as he finally got to enter his. Falling down on his bed, he was hit by the long-overdue wave of exhaustion.

 _It was my first time back on the battlefield today, huh? But it looks like I will be fighting again soon…_

The thought filled him with apprehension and a bit of dread, but he forced himself to remember his words with Bismarck earlier today.

 _That's right. This is where I belong,_ he told himself. _And I won't let the Abyssals take anything else from me. No matter what._

* * *

" _Everything is proceeding as planned so far. Fleet! Fall back! Engage in fighting retreat maneuvers!"_

Nagato's voice sounded through Shigure's earpiece, but the destroyer was too busy to pay attention to it. With a calm look on her face but her eyes blazing with fury, Shigure tightened her grip around the enemy Ri-class' neck with her left hand. With her right hand, she reached towards the struggling Abyssal's eyes and dug her fingers into the Ri-class' right eye, gouging it out as the heavy cruiser shrieked in agony.

Shigure then did the same to the Abyssal's left eye and then backed off, her fingers covered in slick Abyssal blood. The Ri-class had her arms blown off and a huge bruise on her stomach from a battleship-caliber shell, and the now eyeball-less Abyssal thrashed wildly as Shigure let her go, bobbing up and down on the water like some sort of perverse buoy.

"She will sink soon enough, but watching her life end in such agony is the true reward," Shigure smirked as she watched the Abyssal gasp and gag as she started to lose her ability to float.

"Yes. It's quite satisfying," Yamashiro, who stood next to Shigure, agreed. "Now we must give the rest of her comrades the same fate."

"Hey, you two. We're retreating," Mutsu stopped to say as she was sailing by.

Yamashiro turned to her with a rather unfriendly look. "Retreating? What for?"

Mutsu cast a quick, disturbed glance at the dying Abyssal before replying. "Don't you understand the plan? We need to lure them into our kill zone in between the islands."

"It's a stupid plan. Relying on humans to win this war for us? Why not just eliminate the Abyssals here and now?" Shigure refused flatly.

"What? Why can't you -"

"Oi!" Nagato shouted as she too sailed by. "What the hell are you three doing! Fall back!"

Mutsu sighed. "Come on, let's just go for now. You'll have plenty of chances to fight the Abyssals again shortly."

Shigure and Yamashiro looked reluctant, but they followed Nagato and Mutsu regardless. The Ri-class cruiser had ceased her death throes and soundlessly sunk in their wake.

As Shigure sailed along and joined up with the tail end of the main fleet, she suddenly found herself surrounded by a few of her sisters.

"There you are! Why did you run off like that?" Murasame chastised.

"Getting a bit too eager, eh, Shigure?" Shiratsuyu grinned at her.

"It's not fair! You already got the first kill, poi!" Yuudachi complained to Shigure.

Yamakaze and Harusame were also present, though they were busy gaping at how Shigure had managed to douse herself in blood already.

"Hmph. I'm not going to sit around and wait for someone else to kill the Abyssals for me," Shigure simply said.

"Eeeeeh? But Nagato said -"

"Shiratsuyu. I don't care what Nagato said," Shigure interrupted her elder sister. "I have spent my entire life running away and losing to my enemies like a coward. Now it is time for me to turn and fight."

"So I guess you don't like this plan too much," Murasame sighed in defeat.

The fleet was currently sailing away from the Abyssal fleet as the shells from the enemy tried to keep up with them.

"Obviously. Also, it's just stupid in general. There's no way we can outrun them, especially not their planes," Shigure affirmed.

"We don't need to outrun them, just avoid them for long enough so that we can position ourselves where we need to be," Shiratsuyu countered. "Besides, look up above you. Our planes are going to stall theirs and prevent them from attacking us."

Sure enough, the ship girl fighters were buzzing about overhead, ready to repel any encroaching Abyssal planes.

"Hey, we should all try and stick together for this battle, right?" Murasame suggested.

"Yeah! Sounds fun, poi!" Yuudachi agreed excitedly.

Shigure, however, frowned and shook her head. "No. You all should stay back and provide fire support. There's no reason for you to follow me."

Murasame spared a look at Yamashiro, who was sailing a few meters behind Shigure. The battleship had been silent the whole time, but her red eyes were glowing like a pair of sinister embers. She had the same exact look as Shigure.

"I think it's better if we stay together. Who knows what could happen if we had to fight alone," Murasame pressed, though she was feeling a bit unsure now.

Shigure offered her sister a small smile, but her rage-filled eyes did not match her lips. "Murasame, you all have an important job here too. Just stay back and provide support for me, and I will handle the rest. All right?"

Murasame wanted to argue, but Shigure spoke with such an air of intense finality that it felt like it would be pointless. The rest of the Shiratsuyu-class destroyers wore uncomfortable looks, even the normally-upbeat Yuudachi, and they sailed on together in silence for several more minutes.

Eventually the fleet reached the islands again, and Nagato announced the next phase of the plan over the radio. " _All right, everyone! Our fire support from the islands is now within range of the Abyssals! We will fight here for a bit, but once I give the order, we will retreat further towards Tokyo! We will maintain this course until the enemy fleet is fully depleted! All ships, fire at will!"_

"It's about time," Yamashiro finally spoke, her tone gruff as her guns began angling towards the enemy. The battleship turned around and sailed toward the enemy fleet.

Shigure cracked her knuckles and moved to follow. "I'll be back."

Shigure and Yamashiro sailed forward and soon had the Abyssals in sight once more. Some other ship girls had also moved up to get in closer to the Abyssals since Nagato had stated that they would be holding this position for a while.

 _Finally…_ Shigure growled inside her head as she charged towards the Abyssal fleet. _I can finally pay them back for all that they have done… But there is one of them in particular that I must kill._

A Ro-class destroyer jumped out of the water in front of Shigure, its mouth open and the gun in between its teeth pointed straight at her. But Shigure was far too quick, and she crouched, avoiding the shot, then raised her hand cannon and shot the Abyssal out of the air on its way down from its apex. The Ro-class took the direct hit from Shigure and exploded into a small ball of fire as it fell back on the water, shattered.

"Don't waste my time with fodder like this," Shigure said to herself as she stood up and turned back around to continue forward.

However, something was standing just a few meters in front of her. Surprised that an enemy had managed to ambush her again, Shigure immediately raised her gun, but she then put it down just as fast.

Standing in front of her was a small girl with a green uniform, auburn hair, and blue eyes. She had the guns and rigging of a ship girl, and she cowered in fear when Shigure pointed her cannon at her.

"W-Wait! Don't shoot!" the girl cried out, covering her hands with her head and screwing her eyes shut.

"Who are you? Have we met before?" Shigure asked, confused at how the girl got there. She spoke Japanese and she seemed familiar, so Shigure assumed she was part of their fleet.

The girl slowly tried to straighten up as she saw Shigure lower her weapon. "I'm Hachijo. I'm a coastal defense ship! You're Shigure of Sasebo, right?"

"Ah, yeah. I remember you," Shigure nodded. "What are you doing here? Are you from the Sasebo Base?"

Hachijo looked perplexed. "Yes? I'm not really sure what's going on here… What are those black things? Are they new American weapons? But I thought the war was over? And weren't you sunk? And why do we look like this?"

 _Tch, so that's what this is,_ Shigure frowned. She remembered asking those same questions when she was first reborn as a ship girl.

"This is the twenty-first century. World War II ended a long time ago," Shigure explained. "As for those black things, they are enemies, and we are in the middle of a battle right now. Do you know where we are, at least?"

Hachijo was shocked at what Shigure was saying, but she managed to eke out an answer. "W-We're in Izu Islands, right…? I was named after Hachijo-jima…"

"Yes. Now, as I said, we're in the middle of a battle. If you don't fight, you will die. Do you know how to use those guns?"

"Um, it feels a little weird, but I think so." Hachijo moved her turrets around. "B-But what's going on here! I don't understand, Shigure!"

"It doesn't matter if you understand or not! All you need to know is that you have to fight!" Shigure shouted at the escort ship as a large enemy shell whistled past them and made a big splash only a few meters away.

More shells soon followed, and the enemy air force also began making strafing runs. Shigure immediately sped up and started sailing in a zigzag pattern to throw them off. The destroyer looked back briefly to check if Hachijo was following. The frightened coastal defense ship was doing her best to keep up, but it was obvious that she was having trouble navigating in her new ship girl form.

"Hey! Pick up the pace if you don't want to be sunk!" Shigure yelled at her, stopping to fire off some anti air cover for Hachijo. _Damn it! Why did she have to appear in front of me of all people!_

"Shigure! We finally caught up to you, poi!"

The Shiratsuyu-class destroyers Shigure had been with earlier had arrived on the scene, with Yuudachi excitedly leading the pack.

"I told you all to stay back." Shigure sounded less than enthused to see them there.

"Who's that?" Shiratsuyu pointed at Hachijo, ignoring Shigure's disapproving statement.

"H-Hello! I am the coastal defense ship, Hachijo!" Hachijo greeted with a salute, though she was trembling all over.

Murasame took a peek at her. "Hmmm… I don't remember seeing you on our base or even in any of the Sasebo fleets…"

"She was just reborn here," Shigure told them. "Unlucky for her to enter into the world in the middle of a battle, but that's just how it is. You five can babysit her now that you're here."

"Not fair! I wanna fight too!" Yuudachi whined.

Shigure hit her with a blank stare and was about to respond, but suddenly the hairs on the back of her neck stood up.

"Contact on radar. It's fast," Murasame said.

The Shiratsuyu-class destroyers turned to face the new threat, and as the enemy shells continued to rain down around them, they saw a white and black figure cutting through the waves and racing towards them in the distance.

"She's here…" Shiratsuyu said, her voice filled with dread.

"Yeah… We knew she was part of the enemy fleet, but it looks like she's seeking us out," Murasame noted as she tensed up.

Yuudachi started growling angrily, and Yamakaze and Harusame trembled in anticipation. Shigure, however, stepped out in front of her sisters. Her blue eyes smoldered with unbridled rage, and her mouth twisted into a feral snarl.

"W-What's going on?" Hachijo asked, confused and scared at the sudden transformation in the destroyers.

"Get back," Shigure said to her, and the tone in her voice sent shivers through Hachijo as she hastily complied.

The Destroyer Princess sailed up to the Shiratsuyu-class destroyers, well within gun range of them, sending up a spray of water as she skidded to a stop.

"So we meet again, ship girls," Destroyer Princess greeted, not caring to hide the demented glee in her words.

"You bitch! I'll kill you!" Yuudachi roared, barely restraining herself from rushing at the Princess.

Destroyer Princess smirked. "Ah, so the dog is back to play again. I knew I made a good decision by leaving you alive. Where is the red-haired mutt?"

"Kawakaze is in a different part of the fleet, but we don't need her here to defeat you," Shiratsuyu told the Princess. "You're clearly outnumbered. If you retreat now, we won't -"

Shiratsuyu stopped talking when Shigure suddenly started giggling. Everyone, including the Destroyer Princess, turned to look at her as she chuckled to herself. She started off quietly, but then she burst into a savage laughter, throwing her head back like a hyena and baring her canines as her eyes continued to blaze.

"Oh? It appears this one has lost her mind," the Destroyer Princess curiously observed. "What? Did I scare you too badly last time we met?"

Shigure quieted down.

"... No. It's just that I've finally realized why you Abyssals are so strong… When I see you now, I feel overwhelmed with hatred, and the desire to kill you no matter what, no matter how much damage to myself it would cost. I want to shred every last atom of your pathetic body and wipe out any trace of you; erase you from this Earth and make it like you never existed in the first place. I want to make you howl in pain so loudly that I will never stop hearing it, even in my dreams. _I want to wring every drop of life from you with my own two hands!_ "

Shigure's short speech started off calmly but descended into mad shrieking by the end of it. All of her sisters stood there with their mouths hanging open, and Yuudachi, who had been raring to fight seconds earlier, had her furious expression completely replaced by one of shock. Even the Destroyer Princess was taken aback, and for once the Abyssal couldn't think of a reply to that pure, raw anger.

Shigure was calm again. "And so that's it. I've realized that it's these feelings of hatred that make you Abyssals strong. And this time, I'm going to use those feelings against you."

Before anyone could react, Shigure lunged at the Destroyer Princess.


	51. Fate's Hand V

Within a second the distance between Shigure and the Destroyer Princess was closed. With a look of pure rage, Shigure threw a punch at the Abyssal, the cannon on top of her first smashing its barrels into the Princess' face. The gun was completely ruined by the hit as the metal bent against the Abyssal's hard armor, but the hit also damaged the Princess, and she was launched backward as blood sprayed out of her mouth.

The other Shiratsuyu-class destroyers and Hachijo stood in shock as they watched Shigure's punch connect with the Princess.

"She… She actually got in a good hit…" Murasame marveled.

"This will be my only warning to you," Shigure spoke with an eerie calm as the Abyssal sputtered among the waves and tried to stabilize herself. "It's not just my outfit that has changed. With this remodel, I'm going to sink you."

The Destroyer Princess spit out blood onto the water as she smirked. "Heh. Yeah, I guess I did underestimate you. So it's going to be more interesting this time, I see…"

The sun had almost completely set on the battlefield now. Abyssal and ship girl shells were flying all around them, and planes buzzed angrily overhead, competing for air superiority with the Abyssal jets. Human missiles also arched through the air, orange balls of flame that lit up the night sky as they tried to find targets among the Abyssal fleet.

Shigure and the Destroyer Princess stood across from one another on the darkening seas, the former's brown hair and skirt swaying in the sea breeze as neither one of them moved. The tense killing intent in the air was thick.

Almost at the same time, Shigure fired off her guns and the Destroyer Princess rushed at the ship girl, the gun on her left arm raised and pointed straight at Shigure. As Shigure's shells shot towards her, the Destroyer Princess stopped aiming at Shigure and instead leapt into the air, doing a multiple spins as the torpedoes on her lower body fired off of her like shrapnel in an explosion.

The slick, black torpedoes entered the water and sped towards Shigure with intense speed, leaving almost no trail in their wake. Not to be outdone, Shigure popped off depth charges and kicked them into the water, blowing up the torpedoes before they could get to her. It was a remarkable display of dexterity and speed, and the Destroyer Princess was impressed as the detonating torpedoes threw up small geysers.

"So you weren't lying about that remodel. I'm glad I can play around with you a bit longer before I make you piss your panties again," the Abyssal grinned.

Shigure's blue eyes burned, but she did not deign to respond. Instead, she aimed her guns at the Abyssal again and fired.

As the two fought, the other Shiratsuyu-class destroyers snapped out of their trance.

"We have to help her," Shiratsuyu told her younger sisters.

"Eh? Didn't she tell us to stay back?" Harusame said worriedly.

"It doesn't matter what she said. We can't just sit here and watch," Murasame replied. "Hachijo, stay back. We'll handle this."

Shigure and Destroyer Princess were exchanging salvos, neither one of them able to hit the other due to the fact that they were constantly moving and dodging. But suddenly, a stray shell came from the Abyssal's portside and impacted her, exploding and knocking her over.

"Yeah! That's a hit, poi!" Yuudachi raised her fist victoriously, her cannons smoking.

"Guh… I forgot about the rest of you annoying mutts," the Destroyer Princess scowled angrily as she brushed off the hit.

She quickly lifted her left arm and fired a shot off at Yuudachi, but the blonde destroyer ducked under it and retaliated with a shell of her own, forcing the Abyssal to dodge. But as the Destroyer Princess slid backwards, another shell slammed into her back, detonating in between her shoulder blades and causing her to cry out in pain. The Princess whirled around to shoot an enraged glare at Murasame, who simply returned with her own confident smirk.

"It's not just Shigure who has been remodeled," Murasame told the Princess as she whirled her anchor around her finger.

Shigure looked annoyed at her sisters' interference. "I thought I told you all to stay out of this."

Shiratsuyu sailed up beside Shigure and smiled, patting her younger sister on the shoulder. "Come on, we can't just let you fight a Princess by yourself! And with all that scary stuff you were saying earlier, there's no way we can leave you alone!"

"Don't treat this as some sort of joke," Shigure warned, though she could see that she wouldn't be able to stop her sisters from interfering regardless.

"Oh, we're not joking around," Shiratsuyu simply stated as she raised her gun and took aim at the Destroyer Princess. Simultaneously, the other destroyers also fired their guns, Yamakaze and Harusame included.

With so many shells coming at her at once, the Destroyer Princess didn't have much time to think and just sped away as fast as she could from the converging projectiles. However, that brought her right to Shigure. With a low growl, Shigure again slammed her fist into the Abyssal's face, sending her flying once more.

"Yeah! Nice hit, Shigure!" Yuudachi cheered.

 _Hmph. Maybe having them here isn't so bad after all,_ Shigure thought.

The Destroyer Princess brushed off the hits and rushed at Shigure again, though this time she was going for the kill and not just running away to escape being hit. Shigure tensed up and prepared to counter, but as the Princess got close, the Abyssal's two beastly jaws at the bottom of her rigging began snapping wildly, sending up sprays of water.

Unpleasant memories were forced to the surface of Shigure's mind, and she flinched and backpedaled in spite of herself. The Destroyer Princess took this opportunity to outstretch her black hand towards Shigure's neck, and her cold fingers wrapped around the ship girl's windpipe, squeezing with an intense force. Shigure grit her teeth as she tried to force the Abyssal's hand off, but it was no use.

Luckily, Shigure still had her sisters. Though the Destroyer Princess had been monitoring the position of the other Shiratsuyu-class girls and the angle of their guns, she didn't account for any other weapons. An anchor attached to a chain suddenly came smashing down on the Abyssal's helmet, causing her to cringe and let go of Shigure.

Murasame smirked confidently as she whirled the chain around in her hand. "Think you can take me, bitch?"

As the Princess turned her attention to Murasame and the other destroyers, Yamakaze went over to Shigure, who was still coughing and rubbing at her throat.

"Are you all right?" Yamakaze asked worriedly putting a hand on Shigure's shoulder.

Shigure angrily slapped her hand away. "I'm fine! Worry about yourself!"

Murasame was now engaged with the Princess. The ship girl was using her anchor like a sort of ball and chain, but the Destroyer Princess was far too quick to be hit by the weapon now that she was paying attention. As the anchor shot past the Princess, the Abyssal grabbed the chain and yanked Murasame forward, then fired a shot into her stomach as she stumbled.

"Murasame!" Yuudachi cried out. "Grr… You'll pay for that, poi!"

"Wait, Yuudachi!" Shiratsuyu stopped her. "We're at a disadvantage if we try and fight her one-on-one! We need to coordinate our attacks like we did earlier, that's how we -"

Shigure rushed past Shiratsuyu, throwing up water in her wake and obscuring the rest of Shiratsuyu's sentence. With a torpedo in one hand, Shigure threw it at the Princess like a dart, a trick she had learned from observing Sendai. The Princess swung her head around and knocked the torpedo out of the air with the horn on her helmet, then turned her left-hand gun onto Shigure and fired.

The shot slammed into Shigure and exploded into her right hip, but to everyone's surprise, Shigure sailed right through it even as the bottom of her shirt ripped open and her blood sprayed onto the ocean. As she rushed at the Princess, Shigure unstrapped the ruined gun on her right hand and slammed it down onto the helmet of the Destroyer Princess, completely shattering the gun for good and cracking open the Princess' helmet.

Caught off guard once more, the Princess quickly sailed backwards and away from Murasame and Shigure. The Destroyer Princess' bright eyes were wild as her white hair flew about in the wind, now completely unconstrained by anything.

"Urgh… You've been hitting the gym or something, Shigure?" the injured Murasame joked after she witnessed Shigure's powerful smash from up close.

"Can you stand?" Shiratsuyu asked Murasame as the other sisters sailed up to the two of them.

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine," Murasame assured them, though she was clutching her abdomen and bleeding heavily after taking the full brunt of the Princess' lower beast guns at close range.

"No. You can't fight any longer. Stay out of this," Shigure told Murasame, all the while not taking her eyes off the Princess in the distance.

"Shigure… You need to stop rushing off like that," Shiratsuyu admonished. "Like I was saying before you rudely interrupted, we need to fight in a coordinated manner. We can beat her that way."

Shigure glared at her. "Like I said, this doesn't have anything to do with you. Stay out of it."

"Stop arguing, poi! She's getting up again!"

True to Yuudachi's words, the Princess raised herself up on her lower half and aimed all her guns at the Shiratsuyu-class destroyers. Murasame weakly tried to get to her feet in preparation, and the others lifted their own weapons to retaliate. Shigure, however, rushed off again, much to Shiratsuyu's chagrin.

Now left with only her main guns, Shigure pulled them from her back and took aim at the Abyssal as she sailed forward. As reckless as her charge was, it did have the effect of forcing the Princess to turn her attention towards Shigure.

The Destroyer Princess targeted her hand cannon at Shigure and fired, but Shigure anticipated that and leapt over the shot, mirroring the Princess' earlier move. The Destroyer Princess tried to track her in the air and shoot her on the way down, but Shigure also predicted that and turned her main guns downwards and towards the water, firing and propelling herself back into the air at the last moment and evading the enemy shell.

"Wha -" was all the Princess managed before Shigure came crashing down on her, planting into her chest with both feet.

Shigure then jumped off the downed Princess, just in time to dodge the several crashing shells fired by her sisters at the Abyssal.

"Well, I guess this is teamwork too," Shiratsuyu sighed as smoke started to spiral out from the damaged Princess.

The Destroyer Princess righted herself again, but lavender blood was seeping out from cuts on her head, and even more was pouring out of the recently smashed-in portion of her torso. Nevertheless, she still maintained a weak smirk as she regarded the Shiratsuyu-class.

"Hm… So it seems the ship girl remodel procedure is pretty powerful after all," the Abyssal admitted. "I am impressed."

"Don't think cheap praise will save you from your grave on the seafloor," Shigure growled.

"Heh. Come on, we both know that I don't think that," the Princess humored Shigure. "But I've played around enough. If I don't take you seriously, I really will sink. But before that, let me just ask you one thing: Shigure, do you think there is any point to this conflict?"

Though it wasn't addressed to her, Murasame was taken aback by the question. "Huh? You of all people would really question your sick motivations now?"

"No, I perfectly understand the Abyssal motivation for this war. Our cause to eliminate the humans who poison everything they touch is right," the Destroyer Princess stated with uncharacteristic seriousness. "But I am asking _you_. What point is there to protecting those worthless humans? You're just weapons of war to them, even now. I mean, it's not that I won't have fun tearing you apart if you get in my way, but I have always been curious why you all brainlessly oppose us just because the humans ordered you to."

Murasame opened her mouth to answer, but Shigure interrupted her with another demented chuckle.

"Hahaha… What a stupid question," Shigure said, her eyes flashing demonically. "'What is the point?' The point is to smash you disgusting Abyssals apart until you are nothing more than chunks of flesh and steel buried in the sands at the bottom of the ocean. There's nothing more to it than that."

The Destroyer Princess narrowed her eyes. "That didn't really answer my question, but whatever. You're too far gone anyway. Now prepare yourself!"

* * *

Drake looked around the Hamburg Airport as he tried to spot the contact that the US Liberation Navy sent over to take him to Japan. Since time was short, they would be taking a private Concorde Mk II plane directly to Tokyo. Fleet Admiral Van Dyke had impressively managed to coordinate everything flawlessly, and so Drake was told that the plane and his escort were waiting for him at the terminals.

"This is taking quite a while," Vice Admiral Ehrhard complained in English, specifically so that Drake could hear him.

Frowning, Drake didn't bother with a reply. Unfortunately both German admirals had been approved to accompany Drake to Japan, which he would have been completely against had they not brought someone actually useful with them. The heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen had been stationed in Hamburg near the North Sea, and apparently she had been told to go with them. Prinz Eugen was excited to go on another mission with Bismarck, and though she tried to hide it, it was obvious that Bismarck was too. Throughout the entire trip to the airport, the two of them had been talking in German nonstop.

"Oh, there," Drake finally said as he noticed the white officer's uniform from the USLN and started walking towards the contact, forcing the others to follow.

Although she was wearing an officer's uniform, the contact did not have any rank markings on her sleeves or shoulders. She had neck-length blonde hair and cheery blue eyes, and she was relatively tall as well, though shorter than Bismarck. She was also extremely beautiful.

"Ah, hello, sir! Rear Admiral Dick, correct?" the woman saluted as she noticed Drake.

"Yeah, that's me. Call me Drake," he replied with a grimace. "So I'm guessing you're from London HQ?"

"Yes! Fleet Admiral Boston sent me," she answered with a smile.

 _That would explain it,_ Drake resisted the urge to sigh. "So, are we ready to leave? We should go as soon as possible."

"Oh, um, we should wait for my partner. She went off a while ago," the contact gave him an apologetic look.

"What? This is an urgent matter. We can't afford to be wasting time here," Drake was beginning to lose his patience after having to deal with Ehrhard for hours on end and now having to wait even longer here while his fleet was fighting in Japan.

"Calm down, Captain! You're scaring the new girl!"

Drake recognized the voice and turned around to see Iowa emerging from a nearby shop. She also wore the same white officer's uniform as well as a large grin.

"Iowa? You're here too?" Drake blinked in surprise.

"Yeah! You didn't know? Admiral Boston was supposed to tell you," Iowa said, slapping Drake on the shoulder as a greeting.

"All I got from him was a text saying, 'Good luck, Dick!'," Drake replied with a defeated tone. "So you're fighting with us, then?"

"Yes, sir! You can count on me!" Iowa thumped her chest, which looked like it was about to burst out of her uniform at any time. "Colorado here won't be fighting because she's new, but she'll be with you on the ship to observe. The admirals thought it would be a good learning experience for her."

"What?" Drake said dumbly, then turned back to the other woman. "You're a ship girl?"

"Oh, yes! I'm sorry, I forgot to introduce myself!" Colorado hurriedly apologized. "I'm the USS Colorado, the strongest member of the Big Seven!"

"Oh? That's a bold claim."

Now everyone turned to look at this third newcomer. Unlike Colorado and Iowa, she wore a white and gray uniform with a short skirt and an elaborate red ribbon in the shape of a rose around her neck. She had long blonde hair and clear blue eyes, and her height and the size of her bust made it obvious that she was also a ship girl.

"N-Nelson! You're supposed to wait on the plane!" Colorado blushed at having been caught.

"Yes. It was getting boring since you were taking so long," Nelson shrugged as she eyed Drake's party. "But it does seem to be much more interesting here…"

She stepped over to Drake and held her chin in her hand as she looked him over, which weirded him out a bit. Compared to Colorado, Nelson looked bigger in terms of height, muscle, and breast size, even though they were both members of the Big Seven. She sort of reminded him of a British Nagato.

Suddenly Nelson reached out and grabbed a lock of Drake's hair between her thumb and forefinger.

"W-What are you doing!" he sputtered as everyone looked on in shock.

"Ah, magnificent!" Nelson declared as she let go of Drake's hair but then planted a firm hand on his shoulder, preventing him from moving away with her immense strength. "You wear the uniform of an American, but you have the exotic looks of an Indian raj and the commanding eyes of a true British gentleman! Could you perhaps be the product of a British master and one of his servants from our Crown Jewel colony?"

"No! And you can't say things like that!" Drake was taken aback by her forwardness and lack of tact, though technically she was close about his lineage.

Nelson just smiled in amusement. "My, how much the world has changed since my time! And as for the rest of you… It seems we have some real Nazis here as well! It's the great Bismarck!"

Bismarck regarded Nelson with a look of annoyance. "Yes. And what of it?"

"Nothing, it's just that I'm happy to finally get to meet you! If only I had been a bit faster, maybe I could have joined in on the pounding our girls gave you back in the War," Nelson grinned cheekily.

A look of anger flashed across Bismarck's cool blue eyes. " _Ja_ , it's just like you cowardly British to gang up on a lone opponent. If I could take you and your bitch sister on one-on-one, then I would have sent you both straight to the bottom, one after another!"

" _Wunderbar_!" And I will help you this time, Bismarck!" Prinz Eugen approved, nodding enthusiastically at Bismarck's declaration.

"All right, can you grannies stop your bickering? We have a battle to fight," Ehrhard stepped in, clearly having had enough.

His rude interruption just made all the ship girls stare at him.

"... 'Grannies'?" Nelson repeated in a low voice.

Bremerhaven tried to defuse the situation. "Ah, forgive him, that was not the right word. Perhaps he meant, how do you say this in English… Revered elders?"

"You're making it worse," Drake sighed. "But he is right. We do have to go to Japan, so show some professionalism and save your grudges for another time. Iowa, get us to the plane, now."

"Yes, sir!" Iowa saluted sharply and began walking towards one of the terminals. Bismarck and Nelson reluctantly shut up and followed, though not before exchanging killer glares with each other.

As they walked, Drake pulled Bismarck aside.

"What did I tell you about starting fights with other ship girls?" Drake whispered to her.

Bismarck gave him a look of betrayal. "But _she's_ the one who started it!"

"Okay, calm down," Drake glanced at Nelson to make sure that she didn't overhear.

The blonde Brit was busy talking to the German admirals, Ehrhard's comment either forgiven or forgotten already. Nelson had a charismatic aura about her that made it hard to avoid her even if you wanted to, and so the Kriegsmarine officers had no choice but to entertain her for a bit.

"You could still try and be the mature one and not get drawn into it," Drake continued to Bismarck.

"Sir, you of all people shouldn't be talking to me about getting into fights," Bismarck pointed out.

Drake couldn't think of a good rebuttal to that, so he just shook his head and gave up.

Colorado was now leading the group, so Iowa stepped back and slung her arms around Drake and Bismarck's shoulders, giving them both a jolt.

"So! What have you two been up to! It's been a while, hasn't it?" she grinned.

"It's only been a few days," Drake said. "And speaking of that, how did we suddenly gain a new ship girl in the brief period that I was gone?"

"Colorado? She's been in custody of the navy for at least a week now," Iowa told him. "Fleet Admiral Van Dyke knew of her existence, but he didn't tell any of us until a couple days ago. They were probably just giving Colorado the basic information she needs to function in modern times, so she technically wasn't in service until recently… Oh yeah, we also found another destroyer, USS Fletcher, but she's still back in America."

"Really? Damn, looks like America is finally starting to catch up when it comes to ship girls," Drake marveled.

"Yep! We've definitely surpassed our German friends here!" Iowa agreed, shaking Bismarck with her right arm.

Bismarck shoved Iowa's arm off her. "You may have more, but the quality of our ships is better. Don't think for a second that you are better than us."

"Yeah! German warships are the best in the world!" Prinz Eugen backed her up.

"Hey, you're pretty cute." Iowa turned her attention to Prinz, letting go of Drake and draping herself around the heavy cruiser, who blushed at the sudden contact. "What's your name again? Prince Eugene or something?"

"I-It's Prinz Eugen!" Prinz managed, looking uncomfortable at Iowa's closeness.

"Yeah, you're Sara's buddy," Iowa nodded as she remembered. "You came over to America at the end of the war, right? Why don't you ditch this blonde grouch here and join us again?"

"Stop trying to corrupt Prinz!" Bismarck admonished Iowa.

Iowa released Prinz and suddenly drew close to Bismarck, causing the German to step back apprehensively.

"W-What is it?" Bismarck asked, surprised by the serious look on Iowa's face.

"Hm… The Captain likes you a lot, huh?" Iowa smirked.

Now it was Drake's turn to appear shocked. "Wait, what?"

"It's obvious, sir," Iowa shrugged. "Compared to how you were in Alaska, you look a lot happier now. You have that glow of confidence back, and such a drastic change in only a few days needs an explanation, right?"

"But that's not -" Drake started, but then stopped when he unconsciously stole a glance at Bismarck. The German ship girl had been looking at him too, but she quickly looked away as a faint blush spread across her face.

 _This seems to be happening a lot lately,_ Drake sighed internally.

"Oh…? Why are you blushing, Bisko?" Iowa grinned as she nudged Bismarck in the side.

"I'm not blushing! And don't make such inappropriate comments!" Bismarck denied as she pushed away from Iowa.

"The harder you fight it, the more right you prove me," Iowa continued to tease her.

For his part, Drake was glad that Iowa had shifted her attention towards Bismarck and away from him. Now that Iowa had said it out loud, it was clear that her words were true. Fighting that battle in Lubeck with Bismarck at his side had allowed him to regain his confidence, and after his crushing defeat in Okinawa, he was able to stand and fight again.

 _Even after everything that happened… She never lost trust in me,_ Drake thought, watching as Bismarck continued to argue with Iowa. _Even after I failed in Okinawa and got my secretary ship sunk, even after I stupidly fought with Ehrhard, even after I left her behind on that day… She still believed in me._

"What's the smile for, Captain?" Iowa suddenly asked, snapping Drake out of his thoughts. He had hoped that Iowa was entertained enough in Bismarck, but apparently seeing such a rare expression on his face made her take interest in him again.

Drake hadn't even been aware that he was smiling. "Nothing. It's just that I realized that you were right. It's thanks to Bismarck that I'm able to be here with you all right now."

Bismarck was caught off guard by his honesty. "Oh, I, um… You're welcome, sir…"

"Oho, you were praised by Captain Drake, Bisko! That's quite an achievement!" Iowa shook her by the shoulders, enjoying the opportunity to continue her teasing.

Prinz Eugen, meanwhile, looked fascinated and surprised at the same time at the embarrassed blush on Bismarck's face and couldn't think of anything to say.

Drake watched the three of them with amusement. _Heh. I never knew things would end up like this back when I first joined the navy…_

Bismarck met his eyes again, but this time, neither one of them looked away. The two shared a smile as the group finally reached their terminal.

* * *

"Fuck! She's losing blood fast!"

Shoukaku turned to answer Zuikaku, who was holding a heavily-damaged Akagi in her arms, but a careening Abyssal dive bomber slammed down into the water between them and exploded in flames, briefly obscuring Shoukaku's view in a hail of seawater and a cloud of smoke.

The sky above them had given way to nighttime, but it was still full of Abyssal and ship girl planes alike as they streaked through the missile-illuminated darkness. The sound of guns firing, planes dogfighting, missiles and lasers launching, and the screaming of ship girls and Abyssals echoed throughout the battlefield. Worse still, the frantic radio chatter in Shoukaku's earpiece composed of the voices of both humans and ship girls added to the cacophony.

The smoke finally cleared and Shoukaku sailed over to Zuikaku and Akagi. The First Carrier Division ship girl was struggling to stay conscious as Zuikaku held her right arm around Akagi's stomach, quite literally preventing her guts from spilling out. Zuikaku was covered in Akagi's blood, and she herself looked far more panicked than Akagi did.

"What do we do! She's going to die!" Zuikaku yelled over the noise.

"We'll have to let her die! As long as she doesn't sink, we can repair her body!" Shoukaku replied as a large-caliber shell splashed into the ocean only a few meters away from them.

"Ngh… No… I have to…" Akagi muttered, coughing up blood.

"Stop talking, you idiot!" Zuikaku screamed at Akagi. She looked back up at Shoukaku. "We have to at least get out of here! There's a good chance all three of us could end up sinking, especially if we have to hold on to Akagi like this!"

"We can't. It's not possible right now," Shoukaku frowned, surveying the battlefield.

"What do you mean, 'It's not possible'!? Wasn't that the entire purpose of this plan, to retreat!?"

 _Yes, but it's clear that the plan has failed at this point,_ Shoukaku thought.

She tried to review what had gone wrong in the hopes that it would help her find a way out. Everything had been going according to plan until Shigure had started fighting that Destroyer Princess. Yes, other ship girls had been on the frontlines as well because they were supposed to hold their ground here for a bit, but unlike Shigure, they were able to disengage and retreat if they needed to. Shigure, however, either could not or did not want to retreat, and she dragged her sisters into the fight too, so now there was a group of destroyers tied up in a battle with a Princess. Naturally, the other ship girls had to continue to fight back against the other Abyssals or else they would all be overrun, and this led to a spiral that just drew in more and more girls until they were all fighting a messy, static battle.

To make matters worse, Akagi had decided that this would be the time to take down the Airfield Princess. However, since the battle had pretty much descended into chaos, it was hard to get escorting destroyers to provide anti-air cover, and so the three carriers had to dodge Abyssal planes themselves or take them on using their own fighters. This took up a good portion of their attention, and bad luck struck when a battleship shell managed to strike Akagi right in the stomach, ending their run to the Airfield Princess before they could even get close.

Now the entire fleet was bogged down in this insane brawl. Nagato and Rear Admiral Genji had both ordered retreats, but it was impossible to carry out that order in any sort of organized fashion. At the very least, the Abyssals were in range of some of the human weapons, but those didn't seem to be doing much damage. All they could do now was hold out until more reinforcements arrived and gave them an opportunity to break through.

Flares burst in the air above the three carriers as Shoukaku contemplated their next move. "We should sail towards the rear of the fleet. We might be able to drop Akagi off at one of the islands or get a ship to come out and take her, and we don't really need to be at the frontlines to control our planes."

"Guh… No… Kill…" Akagi struggled to speak again.

"Forget it! We couldn't even get near her!" Zuikaku told her, frustrated. "Shoukaku, I think you're right. Akagi is going to die if we don't get her help."

Shoukaku nodded. "Okay, let's get moving. We might have to -"

She stopped in the middle of her thought when Zuikaku's eyes suddenly widened, and not a moment later, a searing, smashing pain slammed into Shoukaku's back, accompanied by a loud bang that made her ears ring. She fell face-first onto the water, saltwater forcing its way down her throat and into her eyes and nostrils. She then felt herself jerked upwards as Zuikaku pulled her out.

"God, no! Shoukaku, are you all right!?" Zuikaku's voice echoed in her ears, competing with the ringing from the shell that just exploded on her back and the general noise of the battlefield.

"Hah… I… I think my back might be broken," Shoukaku said, her entire spine crying out in pain. It hurt too much to even try and turn her head around to survey the damage.

Zuikaku now had her hands completely full, clutching Akagi by the stomach with her right arm and her left arm around Shoukaku's waist, keeping both of them from sinking.

"Damn it! Sorry, everyone, but I'm going to need to call my planes back to cover our retreat," Zuikaku said out loud as she slowly began sailing backwards.

"Don't, I can still control mine. I'll do it," Shoukaku told her sister, even as she fought to stay conscious.

Zuikaku didn't reply and continued sailing backwards, clearly having trouble holding both carriers up, maintaining her planes in the air, and trying to watch out for any more stray shells all at the same time.

"Zuikaku!" a familiar voice called out. It turned out to be Asashio, who was accompanied by Shiranui and Kashima. "What happened? Shoukaku and Akagi are…"

"Yeah, they're down! We need to retreat!" Zuikaku yelled over to them. "If you can spare some help, I'd appreciate it!"

"We're needed at the frontlines, but we have towing cables. We can take one of them," Shiranui said.

"I'll help!" Asashio volunteered, reaching around to the back of her rigging and grabbing the cable.

The black-haired destroyer began sailing over to Zuikaku, but before she could get there, a high-velocity shot seemingly came out of nowhere and slammed into Asashio's chest, knocking her clean off her feet and sending chunks of flesh, steel, and blood into the air.

The ship girls stood in utter shock for a split-second, but their training kicked in and quickly overrode their astonishment. Asashio had a huge hole in her chest, and her body immediately began to sink. Shiranui sailed over with the efficiency and precision of a speed skater and scooped her fellow destroyer's corpse out of the water. Kashima readied her guns and pirouetted to face the new threat.

"Well, well. This is pathetic. I thought you three would come to me, but in the end, I actually had to sail over here myself."

The Airfield Princess had sailed within range of their guns. The group had apparently been distracted by their damaged comrades and the general clusterfuck going on around them and had missed her signature moving towards them.

"Oh? It looks like two of you are already quite fucked," the Princess smirked at Zuikaku, who was holding the now dead Akagi and the dying Shoukaku. "This won't be as fun as I thought…"

"It's you…" Zuikaku growled, her mouth twisting into a snarl and her eyes narrowing.

"Get back, all of you! Take the injured and retreat!" Kashima said, bravely getting in front of them to face the Princess by herself.

The Airfield Princess was not amused. "Who the fuck are you? I'll give you one chance to get out of my sight, worm."

"Are you insane? You can't fight her by yourself," Shiranui warned Kashima.

Kashima gave her a weak smile. "We don't have a choice… I'll do my best."

Shiranui sighed. "This is hopeless… Sorry, Zuikaku, but I'm going to attach my cable to Asashio and then detach it and put it on your rigging instead. You need to sail out of here."

"Why don't you take them all? I need to stay and fight!" Zuikaku argued.

"I'm a destroyer and I don't know if I can sail fast enough with all three of them. Also, you can fight at a range and I can't. Get these three somewhere safe and then focus on the fight," Shiranui said. "Kashima, hold on for a few minutes. We'll be back."

"Roger that," Kashima replied, readying herself to take on the Princess.

"Is that seriously your plan? Pathetic," the Airfield Princess spat. "But that's fine, I guess. I'll kill you first, then."

Kashima tried to maintain her tough look, but the air around them suddenly became filled with white Abyssal fighters and bombers. The Airfield Princess outstretched her arms as she grinned, and the maw of the beast on her starboard side rigging glowed with a red energy.

Kashima swallowed. _This doesn't look good…_

"Kashima!" Zuikaku called out. "I'll be back! I promise you!"

The training cruiser hesitated, but she returned Zuikaku's words with a nod.

 _I can't lose here… My fleet is counting on me!_

"Haha! Let us fight!" the Princess declared, and with a snap of her fingers, the aircraft descended from the sky.


	52. Fate's Hand VI

Drake leaned against the wall and stared out the window of the Concorde Mk II plane. The scenery below was mostly just an empty sea, but occasionally he did glimpse some clouds that quickly blew past as the jet flew towards Japan at supersonic speeds. He was also holding the handset of the wired phone mounted to the wall up to his ear, waiting for Fleet Admiral Van Dyke to contact him. He had been told by Iowa to expect a call on the secure line on the plane very soon.

Sure enough, following a short beeping sound, Van Dyke came on the phone.

" _Rear Admiral. Can you hear me?"_

"Yes, sir."

" _You should be arriving in Japan shortly. You will be landing at the Tateyama Naval Station and then will immediately board the American heavy cruiser USS_ Manifest Destiny _, which will sail towards the ongoing battle. The objective is simply to relieve pressure on the Japanese forces so that the Abyssals can be driven off. Any questions?"_

"No, sir." _It looks like I will need to come up with some sort of strategy, but I don't have much information about how the battle itself is actually unfolding. I guess that makes sense since the situation is changing even as we speak, but still… The_ Manifest Destiny _? Now that's a familiar vessel._

" _All right, then. I will contact you again if there are any changes."_

Fleet Admiral Van Dyke ended the short call, and Drake went back to his seat. Crossing his arms and staring out the window, he tried to think of a general strategy that he could apply to a scenario like this.

"What's with the long face, sir? You look tense!" Iowa noted as she walked over to him. "You should come check out the lounge area. We have all sorts of food and drinks!"

"Yeah, seems like this is a fancy plane," Drake observed.

"Yep! It's usually reserved for VIPs only, but since it's fast, Admiral Van Dyke decided to let us use it… But I guess we are kind of VIPs in this situation anyway!" Iowa nodded.

 _She doesn't seem nervous at all…_ Drake thought as she nonchalantly took a seat beside him.

"I assume everyone else is in the lounge?" he asked.

"Yeah. You should see Bismarck - she looks so pale, like she's about to throw up! I guess she has a fear of flying," Iowa grinned.

"Still? Shouldn't she be over that by now?" Drake groaned. "Hopefully we won't have to pay for cleaning if she stains the carpeting…"

Iowa snickered at that. "She'd die of embarrassment if she actually did get airsick! I feel bad for her, but it's still pretty funny."

"... So, are you worried about the upcoming battle?" Drake couldn't help but ask.

"Mm… Not really. I guess it shows, huh?"

"Yeah. I just wanted to know why. I wish I could ignore the nerves that easily too," Drake admitted.

Iowa smiled to herself. "It's not that I don't get nervous, but rather that my other feelings just outweigh my nervousness."

The battleship stood up. "Captain Drake… I may have been born during World War II, but I was also lucky enough to survive the war and then go on to live decades beyond it. Throughout that time, I've seen a lot of things, many bad things and many good things. Particularly, I've seen America change. Our country has evolved in so many ways, and it's become so diverse now. But even as America and the people that make up our country change, the fighting spirit and the refusal to admit defeat lives on in every one of us."

Iowa's blue eyes sparkled. She closed them and brought a hand to her chest. "It's the same fighting spirit that I saw in the hearts of those sailors and soldiers in World War II. If the spirit of ordinary people can burn so brightly, than what excuse does the battleship Iowa have for getting nervous? That's why I remain positive, sir."

Drake was surprised that Iowa gave him an answer like that, but he had to admit, it did help him recover his own courage.

"You should give that speech to the Department of Propaganda or something," Drake teased. "But seriously, you are right. It's good to believe in what you're fighting for, which hasn't always been the case for a lot of people in the past."

"Yeah, America has gone through some rough patches," she admitted sadly. "But that's different now. This is a fight for all of humanity's sake, and it's a war that's even more important for us to win than World War II was. I'm not going to fail here."

Drake stood up as well. "Make that two of us."

Iowa gave him a thankful smile, but their short moment was interrupted by a crashing sound from the lounge area.

"Great. Now I _really_ hope we won't have to pay for any damages," Drake frowned as he went over to check on the lounge's occupants.

There he found Colorado standing in front of an open closet with a horrified expression, a whole set of silverware apparently having slid out of the closet and crashed down onto the floor.

"T-The plane shifted at the exact same time I opened it! It wasn't my fault!" Colorado tried to deny when Drake entered.

"Good God, shut up! You're making my headache even worse," Bismarck complained from where she lay on the couch, her forearm draped over her eyes in an attempt to block out the light.

"Here, Bismarck! Have some water!" Prinz Eugen stood over her with a water bottle.

The two German admirals, meanwhile, were still engaged in conversation with Nelson on one of the other couches.

"So you see, it was then that I was permanently banned from the officer's wardroom!" Nelson declared proudly to the Germans. "But to begin with, it's incredibly stupid that our sailors are no longer allowed to drink on the job! What harm can a few cups of rum do anyway, right?"

"R-Right," Bremerhaven unsurely assented.

Nelson's eyes lit up as she noticed Drake. "Ah, Admiral Drake! Good of you to join us!"

"Yes, we are having so much fun," Ehrhard droned sarcastically.

Nelson slapped him on the back, knocking him cleanly off his seat on the couch. "Don't be like that, Admiral Ehrhard! Have another drink!"

"Oh, they even serve fine wine here?" Drake took a curious look at the bottle on the glass table. "Somehow I doubt that we should be doing this before the start of a battle, though…"

The plane shook a bit more due to some turbulence, causing a bowl to slide out of the top of the closet Colorado had opened, the piece of silverware falling and hitting her on the head before bouncing off and shattering when it hit the floor.

"Close the damn door already!" Drake told her, resisting the urge to facepalm at the shards littering the carpeted flooring of the lounge.

"Y-Yes, sir!" Colorado hurriedly complied, slamming the closet doors shut and latching them back in place.

" _Attention all passengers, this is the captain speaking. We are experiencing some slight turbulence as we approach for landing, but everything looks good otherwise. We should be touching down at Tateyama in approximately ten minutes."_

" _Gut_ … More turbulence," Bismarck complained, now sitting up with the water bottle in her hand and Prinz Eugen watching closely over her.

"You all right there, Bismarck?" Drake asked, unable to hide the amusement in his tone.

She glared at him. "Do I look all right to you?"

The plane shook with another bout of turbulence, causing Bismarck to spill her water and turn even more pale.

"Ugh… That's it, I can't take it anymore!" She stood up and tried to stumble over to the bathroom as fast as she could.

"Hey, you're supposed to be in a seat when there's turbulence," Drake warned, walking over to her. "I know you're a battleship, but if you knock else something over, Admiral Van Dyke isn't going to like it!"

As soon as Drake finished saying that, the plane jerked again, causing Bismarck to fall and land on top of him.

"See? What did I tell you," he sighed. "Well, at least you only knocked me over and not another valuable - uh, Bismarck…?"

The ship girl had a hand over her mouth and looked paler than ever. "Sir… Please move!"

"Wait, Bismarck, don't -"

* * *

"Welcome to Tateyama Naval Air Station. I am Commander Asase," the young Japanese officer greeted them in English with a salute as the group disembarked from the Concorde jet. "Er, the man wearing a T-shirt, you are Rear Admiral Richard Drake, correct?"

"Yes, uh, my uniform had something spilled on it, so I had to take it off," Drake replied. "Good to meet you, Commander. Is the _Manifest Destiny_ nearby? We should sortie as soon as possible."

"It is. We will begin loading now," Asase said. He snapped his fingers and the sailors lined up behind him ran over to the jet to begin unloading the rigging. "We will remove the rigging from your plane and then drive it over to the warship. You all may head there now."

Drake and the rest of the group began following a Japanese sailor as she led them towards the docks. As they were walking, Bismarck glanced at Drake guiltily.

"Admiral… You're not still mad at me, right?" she asked.

"Of course not. You just threw up all over my uniform; what's there to be mad about?" he replied gruffly.

"You're angry after all…"

At the docks, they found the large American heavy cruiser USS _Manifest Destiny_ waiting for them. The sailor leading them stopped and turned to Drake.

"Ah, uh, the sailors in ship…" she started in her rough English.

"Yeah… Sorry you had to interact with them," Drake apologized in Japanese.

The sailor smiled and then saluted before leaving Drake and the rest of his group alone with the ship.

"All right, it's time to embark," Drake declared. "I used to be the captain of this ship, and it looks like the majority of the crew since back then is still around. Just a fair warning, they're not exactly the most pleasant group of people."

"Huh? What does that mean?" Ehrhard wondered.

"Guess you'll find out. Let's go." Drake led the group up to the entrance of the ship.

When they entered the vessel, they found a small group waiting for them. An officer with tan skin and long black hair tied in a low ponytail (clearly in violation of military regulations for men) stood at their head, his keen dark eyes fixed on them. A deep scar ran from his forehead all the way down to his neck, and he smirked as Drake approached.

"Captain Drake… We meet again. Well, I suppose it's Rear Admiral Drake now," the officer greeted with a salute, his voice rough like the crashing of stormy waves against a cliff face.

Drake returned his salute. "You're the one who's a captain now, Eliot. I see this crew hasn't changed since I left."

"Haha. It's only thanks to you that I've reached this rank, sir," Eliot grinned, then glanced at the rest of the newcomers. "I see you brought some beautiful women with you… So those are the ship girls."

Every sailor in the room's eyeballs were glued to the ship girls as they surrounded the exceptionally pretty women. One of the sailors whistled at them, causing the others to erupt in laughter.

 _Yep. Hasn't changed at all…_ Drake sighed to himself.

"Hello! I'm Iowa! Nice to meet you, sir!" Iowa was apparently unperturbed as she reached out her hand to Captain Eliot.

"Uh, yeah, nice to meet you," Eliot shook her hand, not expecting her to be so forward.

"All right, Eliot. You realize what our mission is, right?" Drake asked him. "We need to prepare to sail immediately."

"Yeah, I get it, sir. Let's go up to the bridge," Eliot said. "Those fine ladies can keep the rest of the sailors company in the meantime, what do you say?"

A cheer went up among the sailors, and one of them got too overzealous and grabbed at Nelson's ass, startling her. Drake cringed as he saw that, and predictably, Nelson did not take kindly to it. In one swift motion, Nelson grabbed the sailor's arm and jerked him up off his feet. The sailor let out a scream as he dangled from his now-dislocated arm.

"I don't remember saying you could touch," Nelson smiled at him as she tossed him back onto the floor as the rest of the sailors jeered and laughed at their fallen comrade.

"Damn, they're tough," Eliot marvelled.

"Yeah. And if one of them decides to beat the shit out of any of your men, don't expect me to try and stop them," Drake simply said. "Now, can we get to the battle plan already?"

Captain Eliot laughed as he began leading the group up towards the heavy cruiser's bridge. As they went through the passageways of the ship, they saw men lazing around shirtless, men sharing a drink, and even one sailor smoking, only putting out his cigarette when Eliot forced him to.

Vice Admiral Ehrhard walked beside Drake, observing his surroundings with palpable distaste. "What the hell is this, Admiral Drake? Are all American ships like this?"

"Hahaha!" Captain Eliot laughed, evidently overhearing. "Nope, _Manifest Destiny_ is one of a kind. For some reason all the scum in the navy was put on this one ship."

"And just how is that allowed?" Ehrhard replied, incredulous. "Do you not have inspections? How is it that no one above you corrected this?"

"Of course we have inspections. It's just that the sailors aboard this ship are the best in the navy at covering things up and making things look like there's nothing wrong, and that's partly due to your friend Admiral Drake over there," Eliot grinned.

"What? Why would you help these barbarians, sir?" Bismarck asked, sharing her German admiral's disdain for the ship's crew.

Drake ran a hand through his dark hair. "I didn't really _help_ them, I was just doing my job. When I was put in charge of this ship, it had the worst results in the fleet in terms of exercises and inspections. All I did was force them to shape up."

"Please, that's not the full story," Eliot dismissed. "How do you think he managed to get a bunch of ruffians like us to listen to him? As long as it didn't affect our results, he always looked the other way whenever we broke the rules, and even covered for us when we got in trouble with other higher-ups."

"All right, well, half these sailors would be in jail or worse if it weren't for the navy," Drake defended himself when Ehrhard and Bismarck gave him disbelieving looks. "Isn't it better to have them focus what little ability they have doing something useful instead?"

"Yeah, we can fight just as well as anybody when it comes down to it," Eliot boasted. "Okay, here it is, the bridge. Back again, eh, Admiral Drake? Though as I recall, you preferred to command from the situation room, didn't you?"

Drake nodded. "That's probably where I'll be this time as well. The bridge has better equipment, though, so I thought we might as well do our planning here before the battle starts."

"Let's get to it, then!" Eliot grinned. "We actually received some maps from the Japanese stationed on the Hachijo Islands, so we know the general layout of the battlefield. Here."

Eliot went over to one of the touch screens and pulled up the map of the Hachijo Island chain. The friendly ship girls were marked in blue and the Abyssals in red, and from the data the map was showing, there was a lot of red interspersed with blue.

"It is very chaotic…" Bremerhaven noted.

"That's an understatement. And to make things even worse, the initial strategy was to draw the Abyssals in and bomb them from human-made ships and missiles," Eliot said.

"And that won't work if the Abyssals are so mixed up with the ship girls because human-made weapons can't lock on that well to Abyssals. We would need them in one uniform block to be able to hit them reliably," Drake finished. "From this map, it seems like we need a strategy that can separate the Abyssals from the ship girl fleet. Only then can the IJN actually make their strategy work."

"Can we attack the Abyssals from behind and trap them in between the Japanese ship girls and our fleet?" Eliot suggested.

Drake shook his head. "That wouldn't work because they can easily break through our blockade. Our current force consists of a human-made heavy cruiser and four ship girls, which isn't nearly enough to trap the Abyssals in one place. We have to carefully choose where we send our ship girls."

As Drake continued to stare at the map, he realized just how little he could actually do with only four combat-capable ship girls and one warship. He hoped that reinforcements from Sasebo would arrive in time.

"So we really do have to extract the Abyssals from the ship girl fleet," Bremerhaven rubbed his chin, his sharp eyes trying to find a weakness in the enemy composition. "It looks like this will be difficult… There is no strategy I can see that can successfully do that. Perhaps we should just send in our ship girls and hope they can turn the tide of the battle."

 _There's got to be some way,_ Drake thought, though he really couldn't disagree with Bremerhaven's assessment.

"Hey, I got an idea," Eliot grinned. "Why don't we rig this ship with explosives and sail it straight into the enemy? We'll leave on the lifeboats beforehand, of course."

"Are you being serious?" Ehrhard was not amused. "Even if you are, you just heard that the enemy is too intertwined with the ship girl fleet. You can't just do something that reckless."

Eliot shrugged. "So what if we sink a few ship girls in the process? Wouldn't it be worth it if we took out the entire Abyssal fleet?"

"Of course not. No more idiotic suggestions, Eliot," Drake rejected the idea.

"Come on, sir. Didn't you only get promoted to the captainship of _Manifest Destiny_ because of the Battle of Tangier? It's obvious to anyone who read the reports from that battle that you know it's always a good plan to sacrifice the few for the sake of the many," Eliot pressed.

 _Damn this guy, I forgot how annoying he was,_ Drake cursed internally. "And it's even better to not have to sacrifice anyone at all. Think of something actually useful or shut up."

Eliot merely chuckled at that, and Ehrhard and Bremerhaven ignored him and continued to discuss less risky tactics. Drake, however, found himself hung up on what Eliot had said… Even though the flames of Tangier haunted him to this day, he had to ask himself: did he really _regret_ his decision back then? If he could go back and replay that day once more, would he have made a different decision?

"Admiral. Are you okay?" Bismarck quietly asked, putting a hand on his shoulder.

Drake tried to shake free of those thoughts. "Yeah, I'm fine…"

"It's all right, sir. If you can't think of something, just leave the battle to us. We will push the Abyssals back," Bismarck gave him a confident smile, trying to allay his worries.

 _Thanks, Bismarck, but there's no way I'm letting you go out there and fight for me while I just sit back and do nothing,_ Drake decided. _The problem is that the only plan we've come up with so far is Eliot's dumb bombing run while we escape on lifeboats… Wait._

Drake knocked his fist on the side of the screen, getting the other officers' attention.

"I think I have a plan."

* * *

Blood poured out from the hole in Shigure's wrist, her right hand having been completely chopped off. Smashed up bone shards stuck out from her wrist as the Destroyer Princess' beasts had roughly bitten her hand off, and she panted heavily as she stared down the Princess, a hateful fire smoldering in her eyes.

The Destroyer Princess was also bleeding from multiple wounds, but she was much better off than Shigure. "Idiot ship girl. Can't you see the difference in our strength?"

Murasame had long since passed out due to blood loss, and Shiratsuyu had taken a shell in the chest that smashed her open completely. Yuudachi was still alive, but she had taken quite a few hits as well, and she crouched beside Shigure, growling ferally at the Princess even as her blood mixed in with her sister's as it dripped into the ocean. Yamakaze and Harusame were also standing, both of them relatively unscathed but clearly frightened. They stood behind Shigure with their guns pointed at the Princess, though their grips were shaky.

The destroyer escort Hachijo sailed in place a bit farther away from the battlefield, looking even more frightened than Yamakaze and Harusame as she stood there with her cables attached to the lifeless forms of Murasame and Shiratsuyu. She could not tow the two of them to safety because of the pure chaos going on in all directions and her slow speed while towing two destroyers.

"Sh-Shigure, maybe we should retreat," Harusame suggested.

"Shut up! There will be no retreating until I kill this bitch," Shigure snapped, her voice dripping with venom as she continued to glare at the Princess.

"Heh. Pathetic. A kicked dog like you should know when to give up," the Destroyer Princess smirked. "Perhaps I should kill more of your sisters? Maybe sink them for good this time."

"Like hell that'll happen, poi!" Yuudachi yelled, gritting her teeth and firing a salvo at the Princess.

"Pathetic. This old strategy again?" the Princess looked to be getting bored. Without even looking at Yuudachi's shells, she turned to Shigure, who was in the midst of charging at her at full speed.

The Princess slammed her own engines into full throttle and met Shigure halfway, outmaneuvering the ship girl and knocking her onto the surface of the water by headbutting Shigure with the black covering on top of her scalp. Shigure grunted in pain as she was laid out flat by the attack.

"Your movements have gotten slower," the Destroyer Princess chided, standing over Shigure with a sinister smile. "Take your time in getting up. I'm saving you for last."

The Princess sailed past Shigure and cut through the water at impressive speeds right towards Yuudachi. The blonde destroyer tried to get out of the way, but her injuries had slowed her down severely, and the Destroyer Princess used the black horn on her head to slash Yuudachi's throat open.

Gagging, Yuudachi clutched at her throat as she collapsed, her blood rapidly coloring the water around her.

"Harusame, please recover Yuudachi!" Yamakaze said, steeling herself and firing off a shot at the Princess.

The Abyssal slid out of the way of the shot and targeted Yamakaze next. Yamakaze's eyes widened with fright as she tried to shoot the Princess before she could get to her, but her nerves overwhelmed her and she missed. The Princess grabbed her by the throat and pinned her down.

"You incompetent little cunt. You can't even aim properly!" the Destroyer Princess grinned, enjoying Yamakaze's squirming.

"Let go of her you piece of shit!" Shigure yelled as she finally stood up, shooting off a shell from her main cannon.

The Princess laughed. "Gladly, Miss Shigure."

With her immense Princess strength, the Abyssal lifted Yamakaze up and threw her right in the path of Shigure's shell's downward trajectory. As the Abyssal watched in satisfaction and Shigure stared in horror, the shell detonated as it impacted Yamakaze. Following the explosion, the now-charred and beaten up destroyer fell from the sky and slammed onto the ocean's surface. She did not begin sinking, meaning she was still alive, but she was clearly no longer fit to fight and could quite easily die soon.

"Oh? Bravo! You just killed your sister, Shigure!" the Destroyer Princess clapped her hands mockingly.

"Aaaaaargh!" Shigure roared with rage as she blindly charged the Princess again.

"You've given yourself up completely to your anger and hatred, I see," the Princess noted. "However, if you can't control your negative emotions, then they only serve to harm you. You're just worthless ship girl scum playing at being an Abyssal!"

This time, the Destroyer Princess did not speed forward to meet Shigure. Instead, she reversed the direction of the beasts on her lower rigging, and she jetted backwards, straight into the unsuspecting Harusame who was busy with Yuudachi. The impact completely bowled over Harusame, causing her to drop Yuudachi.

The Destroyer Princess then pointed her hand cannon at Harusame, and she wore a wide smile as her violet eyes burned with ecstasy. "Die, Harusame!"

"Nooooo!" Shigure screamed in agony, but she would not get there in time.

The Princess fired a shot straight through Harusame's abdomen, the shell blowing through her guts and exiting out the other side. The pink-haired destroyer did not make a sound as she fell, her eyes frozen in death. Both Harusame and Yuudachi began sinking.

"No! Fuck you! NO!" Shigure continued to shriek, her anger turning into despair.

The Destroyer Princess finally turned to face Shigure. "I've finished the rest of your bitch sisters, and you are the last one. You said you wouldn't run, right? Look at what you have caused, Shigure!"

Hot tears of rage and sadness welled up in Shigure's eyes as she bared her canines at the Princess, her body propelled by hatred even though she knew it was futile.

 _Even now… It still ends up like this?_ Shigure could not believe it.

Out of nowhere, a battleship-caliber shell landed centimeters away from the Destroyer Princess, splashing water all over her and Shigure.

The splash of cold saltwater distracted the Princess, and it also made Shigure stop right in her tracks, as if she had just been slapped hard.

 _No. I can't let it end like this. A suicide charge won't avenge my sisters or my own failures!_ Shigure changed her mind and redirected herself towards the bodies of Yuudachi and Harusame instead of charging the Princess head-on. Hachijo was also making a move to recover Yamakaze, bravely fighting through her own fear. _It's a longshot, but if I can take them and escape…!_

Shigure managed to grab both Yuudachi and Harusame by their collars, a task made more difficult by the fact that she only had one functional arm. This slowed her down, and as she tried to flee, she came face-to-face with the Destroyer Princess pointing her gun straight at her.

"Now you choose to run? You really are a mutt who needs to be put down," the Princess was annoyed.

Shigure had no means to fight back and was about to just make a desperate run for it anyway, but the whistle of another large shell pierced through the sounds of the battlefield, alerting the Princess and allowing her to just barely dodge it.

 _Another one? So that first one wasn't a coincidence?_ Shigure assumed.

Confirming her inner thoughts, she saw a figure sailing towards them, separating herself from the general clusterfuck that was the rest of the battle.

 _No… Could it be?_ Shigure's tired blue eyes widened in shock.

"A Princess, I presume?" Bismarck said as she sailed into the battle, her confident gaze fixed on the Destroyer Princess. " _Gut_. I wouldn't mind sinking another."

* * *

"Try to separate yourselves from the enemy! Give the marines stationed on the islands a clear target to hit!" Nagato yelled, one hand pressed to her ear mic as the other was held against the side of her abdomen, which was bleeding profusely.

"Focus on the fight! No one is listening to any orders anymore!" Yamashiro barked at Nagato, the aviation battleship's face covered in red as she bled from a cut on her forehead.

The two ship girls were engaged in combat with four enemy battleships, two Ru-classes and two Ta-class Abyssals. The ship girls had put up a decent fight so far, but it was clear that they were losing, both because of the numbers disadvantage and because enemy planes made bombing runs on them every so often.

"We can't win like this! We need to retreat and follow the plan!" Nagato shot back as she sailed backwards to avoid a volley from one of the Ru-class ships. She managed to evade the shots, but the burst of saltwater stung as it sprayed all over her clothes and wounds.

"That's impossible now!" Yamashiro concluded, blocking a punch from a Ta-class.

"Because of you! If you hadn't gone charging so far ahead, nobody would have followed you and our positions wouldn't be messed up!" Nagato accused.

Yamashiro glared at Nagato. "You and the admirals gave idiotic orders, so it's only natural that no one followed them! Do you expect us to retreat and allow the Abyssals to come so close to Japan when they are right in front of us, begging to be killed by our hands!?"

The four Abyssal battleships, meanwhile, seemed to be enjoying the discord between the two ship girls. One of the Ta-classes used her superior speed to charge in close to Nagato, throwing a punch at the black-haired battleship. Nagato dodged it by moving to her right, but the Ru-class from earlier fired another shot at her, forcing her to move back to her left and putting her back in the path of the Ta-class. The Ta-class' fist smashed into Nagato's face, making her dizzy.

Nagato blindly fired her main guns, the recoil running through her entire body. However, she had not hit anything, and the Ta-class punished her miss by punching her again, this time in the abdomen where she was already bleeding. Nagato gasped as she coughed up blood, and the Ta-class kicked her in the stomach, forcing her to her knees.

Her vision blurry with pain, Nagato could not do anything to avoid the inevitable finishing blow from the Ta-class. But no second hit came, and Nagato glanced up to see the Ta-class facing away from her. The Ta-class then sailed away, abandoning Nagato.

 _What…?_ Nagato recovered her bearings enough to see what the Ta-class had shifted her attention to.

To her surprise, Musashi was holding a Ru-class up in the air with only one hand, her palm covering the Abyssal's face. A moment later, Musashi crushed the Ru-class' skull, splattering blood and brain matter all over her new black outfit. The Ta-class that had been standing over Nagato was now charging at Musashi, but the Yamato-class battleship was unfazed.

With an eerie calm, Musashi turned to face the new threat and pointed all her guns directly at the Ta-class. Before the Ta-class could even get close, Musashi's guns fired with a deafening boom, erasing the Ta-class. The water rose up slightly due to the impact of the shells hitting the Ta-class, and it began raining blood and bone as the Ta-class' obliterated remains fell down from the air.

The savage finish had stunned the remaining Abyssal battleships, and Yamashiro took that opportunity to tackle the remaining Ta-class, pinning her down and beating her to death with her fists. Nagato tried to stand too, but the pain was too great, causing her to wince and fall back to her knees. To her chagrin, the final Ru-class was sailing towards her at full speed, her guns pointed at Nagato… But with unexpected speed, Musashi intercepted the Ru-class, slamming into her and knocking the Abyssal off her feet.

Musashi picked up the Ru-class by her neck and lifted the Abyssal into the air, much like she had done with the other one. This time, Musashi slowly tightened her grip around the Abyssal's neck. The Ru-class gagged and clawed at Musashi's arm, but it was futile. The Abyssal's eyes rolled back in her head as she slowly suffocated, her arms still jerking about. Musashi continued to take her time choking the Abyssal, her eyes unrelenting behind her glasses.

Soon enough, the Ru-class ceased her struggle, and Musashi tossed her into the ocean in a manner not dissimilar to tossing a rotten apple in the trash. As the Abyssal began sinking, Musashi turned to look down at Nagato.

"What the hell are you doing?" Musashi asked. Her voice was cold. "Why are you on your knees with that pathetic, defeated look? And why is your fleet being beaten? Were you not the flagship of the entire Imperial Navy at one point? You're in quite the sorry state, Nagato."

Nagato looked down, embarrassed. "I…"

"Save your excuses. Stand up," Musashi ordered.

Nagato bit her lip as she tried to stand, fighting past the intense pain searing her abdomen.

"Why so slow? Is that wound enough to incapacitate one of the Big Seven?" Musashi demanded as she watched Nagato struggle. With a look of disgust, she pushed Nagato back down.

"Ugh! W-What are you doing?!" Nagato asked, bewildered.

Musashi gave her a crushing glare. "Quiet. If you're too weak to fight, then sit down and shut up and wait for the others to do the hard work for you."

Musashi then sailed away. Nagato stayed down, ashamed at herself and also angry at Musashi.

 _Who does she think she is, speaking to me like that?_ Nagato frowned, clutching her abdomen. Musashi had always been a bit rough and callous, but she had never been this cold and unfriendly before.

Yamashiro sailed past Nagato, stopping momentarily to glance at her. "There are no more enemies in this area. You should be safe here."

Too weak to protest, Nagato could only watch as Yamashiro sailed away to join Musashi.

 _I don't know what's going on anymore,_ Nagato sighed. _I just hope that everyone can make it out of here alive, or else we may get more girls going down the same path as those two…_


	53. Fate's Hand VII

_It's no good… It's over for me,_ Kashima realized as she struggled to remain on her feet.

Her guns had been smashed to pieces by repeated airstrikes, leaving her unable to counterattack. Strafing from the Airfield Princess' fighters had also taken its toll on her, and her body was riddled with bullet holes and was leaking blood into the water. They were minor wounds since she had managed to evade or block all the torpedo and dive bomber attacks, but they were still beginning to add up. She was rapidly losing blood, and the Airfield Princess looked like she still had a good number of planes left.

"What the hell is this?" the Airfield Princess sneered. "What are you even supposed to be? All you've done is take hit after hit without even putting a scratch on me. This is ridiculous. You call yourself a warship?"

Kashima warily regarded the Airfield Princess, her silver hair sticking to her forehead and getting in her eyes. _She's right… Even in all our sorties up until now, I've just been playing a supporting role. I'm only a training cruiser who's never made a difference in the battle._

Her guns were nonfunctional, but Kashima faced the Princess with a resolute look nonetheless. _But I promised Zuikaku I would hold this Princess off until she returned. Even if I don't have my guns, I've still been trained in CQC. If I can just hold on for a few more minutes…_

"Fine. I'll just sink you, then. I don't want to pull my bombers away from the rest of the battle, but if I must… " The Airfield Princess had enough of Kashima taking up her time.

A large force of Abyssal dive bombers swooped down from the sky, surrounding Kashima from the aft, port, and starboard sides, meaning the only way she could go was forward towards the Princess. However, the Princess' beast had its jaw wide open, a red light glowing fiercely inside of it.

Kashima sailed forwards at full speed, determined to reach the Princess before the laser beam could pierce her. _That attack needs time to charge. If I can just make it there before that…!_

"Hahaha! Sailing straight towards your death?" the Airfield Princess jeered as the dive bomber squadrons enclosed around Kashima.

 _I may not have contributed greatly to the last few battles, but that doesn't mean I haven't learned from them! This will do it!_

Kashima unlatched her destroyed rigging from her body, a technique she learned from reading the reports about the Battle of Okinawa when Bismarck had done it. The rigging fell from her back and began sinking.

 _Even if I'm not individually strong, I can use the strength and experience of my fleetmates!_ Kashima smiled to herself. _With the weight of my rigging gone, now I'll be able to make it to the Princess before she can fire her weapon!_

"Oh? I see," the Princess said out loud, then grinned devilishly. "I'm sorry to disappoint you, but that won't work. You see, my laser's charging time is only long if I need to fire it at full strength. But for an injured, weak ship girl like you, just this much is enough!"

Kashima's eyes widened in shock. _No! I can't get out of the way!_

Just as the Airfield Princess fired her laser beam, a sudden object came from behind the Abyssal and knocked her over. The Princess fell face-first onto the ocean's surface, and her laser beam shot into the water instead of at Kashima. The dive bombers enclosing on Kashima flew right past the ship girl as well now that the Airfield Princess' concentration had been broken.

"Too focused on what was in front of you to hear that I was approaching you from behind? Dumb mistake," Iowa smirked as she stood over the Princess, her sixteen-inch guns pointed directly at the Abyssal.

Before Iowa could fire, the Airfield Princess spun around on her vertical axis, swinging her two runways towards Iowa. The American battleship leapt over the attack but was forced away from the Abyssal, now sailing beside Kashima.

"Yo! You all right?" Iowa asked cheerily.

"... Iowa? What are you doing here?" Kashima asked, not expecting to see her of all people.

"Killing Abyssals. What else?" Iowa gave her a thumbs up. "Looks like we got ourselves a tough one here. This is the infamous Airfield Princess, huh?"

The Princess was back on her feet, and the air force that had just done an overhead pass was now flying back towards the battle.

"A battleship-class ship girl? Idiots. How do you hope to beat me without any air power?" the Princess seemed unbothered by Iowa's appearance.

"With superior firepower, of course!" Iowa flexed her well-toned biceps as she flashed the Abyssal a confident grin.

"Good luck with that," the Princess scoffed. "See if you can handle this!"

The Abyssal dive bombers came back, the black, circular, monster-like planes screeching down towards Iowa and the bleeding Kashima.

"Okay! Let's see who hits first!" Iowa challenged, her anti-air guns firing automatically. She put her actual focus into aiming her main guns at the Princess, and she fired a full broadside with a loud boom.

Iowa's shells crashed towards the Princess, the Abyssal not having much time to dodge at such a close range, especially because she was also busy commanding her planes. The shells rained down upon her, one of them smashing a hole straight through her runway while another exploded atop her gun, completely destroying it.

"Gah! Those guns…" The Airfield Princess was taken off-guard by the strength of Iowa's shells.

Unfortunately, the close range also meant that Iowa and Kashima didn't have an opportunity to dodge either.

"Get ready!" Iowa warned Kashima as the first dive bomber rocketed downwards.

Iowa held out her right forearm in front of her body as the black plane smashed into it, exploding. Iowa winced a bit at the hit, but did not look too damaged. However, more planes were coming.

Kashima felt ashamed as she crouched behind Iowa, unable to even help the American battleship shoot down planes because she had already ditched her entire rigging.

 _I'm useless again…_ Kashima clenched her fists, staring down at the dark ocean underneath her.

The Airfield Princess' expression twisted in annoyance as she watched Iowa simply tank hits from her dive bombers. "Fine, then! See if you can survive this!"

The black dive bombers suddenly stopped their runs and circled up in the air instead, forming a ring with Iowa at the center. The maneuver gave Iowa a moment's respite, but the battleship's eyes narrowed when she realized what was coming next.

"Shit! Kashima, right? Stay underneath me!" Iowa warned, prepping her AA guns.

 _All my rigging is gone… Why are you bothering to protect me?_ Kashima looked up at Iowa with a mix of admiration and frustration. _Sorry, Iowa. But I won't let you do that._

As the dive bombers finally screamed down towards the ship girls, Kashima tugged on Iowa's arm, putting the unsuspecting battleship off-balance and causing her to trip backwards. Before Iowa had a chance to realize what was happening, Kashima leapt on top of her, covering Iowa with her body. The Abyssal dive bombers smashed down onto Kashima, blowing up in a series of explosions. Iowa cringed at the impact, which she still felt even beneath Kashima, and the heat from the explosions licked at her as well. All Iowa could do was try and cover Kashima's head with one hand.

When the exploding ceased, Iowa slid out from underneath Kashima's limp body, almost afraid to look at the damage. Kashima's entire backside had been charred and burned off, and huge chunks of flesh were completely missing. Iowa's left hand, the one she had used to cover Kashima's head, had been entirely blown off. If she had not placed her hand there in time, Kashima would surely be dead for good.

"Really… Who asked you to do that," Iowa muttered as she stood back up, holding Kashima's body in her arms bridal-style. "But thanks anyway. Even a battleship like me wouldn't be feeling too well if I had to take those hits."

The Airfield Princess did not appear amused. "Wow, how touching. Now, I'd like to see how you fight while carrying her, idiot."

Iowa's eyes flashed in anger. "Shut the hell up. You're the bitch that sunk those Japanese carriers, aren't you? I don't usually say this, but I'm going to enjoy putting an end to your pathetic life, Abyssal trash."

"Oho, someone's mad now," the Airfield Princess clapped her hands. "Now lets see if you can live up to those words!"

More Abyssal planes descended from the sky, having made their way over while they were talking. Sleek black fighters mixed in with some circular white ones began firing their machine guns as they screeched towards Iowa, buying time before the main force of dive bombers could arrive.

In response, Iowa stood her ground and aimed her big guns towards the Princess. "Taste my shells, bitch!"

In a series of loud blasts, Iowa fired her main guns at the Airfield Princess. Now having put some distance between them, the Airfield Princess had ample time to evade. However, she was forced to stop in her tracks when a Japanese Zero suddenly rushed at full speed towards where she was about to sail, firing at her with its guns and going in for a kamikaze attack.

"Wha -? I thought I eliminated them all!" the Princess cried as she was forced to alter her course.

But as soon as she moved to dodge the plane, the familiar whistle of an arrow sounded in her ears, and she was again forced to retreat, this time back to her original position. The arrow and plane both missed her, but Iowa's shells had finally come down from their arc, and though the Princess tried to dodge again, it was too late. Most of the shells still missed, but one landed on right on top of her beast, smashing into the massive jaw and exploding. The beast let out an inhuman roar, and red energy spilled out from its maw.

"Yeah! We got her!" Zuikaku fistpumped as she returned to the scene. "Good teamwork, Iowa! Wait… Kashima, is she…"

"She's dead for now. We'll need to repair her," Iowa confirmed.

"Then you need to get her back to the ship! I'll stay here and -"

"No," Iowa interrupted. "Look over there."

Zuikaku turned to the Airfield Princess, who had a panicked look on her face. Her beast was thrashing about wildly even though it was confined to her rigging, and cracks appeared in its black exterior, more red energy leaking out.

"Woah, looks like it's about to burst," Zuikaku observed. "Are you saying that she's finished? But she can detach her beast if she really needs to. Trust me, I've fought a disembodied beast before…"

Iowa shook her head. "It doesn't matter; she's going to be forced to retreat anyway. You escorted the boats like I asked you to, right, Zuikaku?"

"Yeah, they should be here soon, though I don't really get it," Zuikaku replied.

"Don't worry. All you have to do is follow my lead," Iowa said as she began sailing backwards.

* * *

"Bis… Bismarck?" Shigure muttered, almost unable to believe her eyes.

Bismarck stuck out her chest proudly. "Yes, it is I, Germany's greatest battleship... You, Abyssal Princess. Now that you know who you are facing, perhaps you want to surrender?"

The Destroyer Princess looked confused. "Surrender? Are you out of your mind? Do you think one ship girl can change the course of this fight? It doesn't matter one bit if you're a battleship."

"Hmph. I am a fast battleship, to be exact," Bismarck told her. "Don't think you can outspeed me just because you're a destroyer."

"Oh? You're a fool to think our speeds are anywhere near comparable," the Abyssal scowled.

To prove her point, the Abyssal rushed at Bismarck, expecting Bismarck to try and dodge or to fire her guns at her. But to her surprise, Bismarck stood still, and instead launched the torpedoes on her rigging that the Princess had failed to notice.

 _A battleship-class ship girl with torpedoes?_ The Destroyer Princess thought in disbelief. _Damn it! I'm going too fast to avoid them now!_

The torpedoes detonated underwater as they passed beneath the Princess' position, blasting through her lower rigging and tipping her over.

"Shigure, get out of here as fast as you can," Bismarck ordered the destroyer as she trained her guns on the struggling Princess.

Realizing that she had received the opportunity she needed, Shigure nodded and sailed off towards Hachijo, dragging her sisters' corpses along. Hachijo had managed to recover Yamakaze's body after Bismarck had arrived, and Shigure took the towing cable from the shaken destroyer escort and sailed away with her.

Bismarck then fired at the Princess, but the Abyssal propelled herself away using her rigging even though she was not fully upright yet. The Destroyer Princess righted herself after dodging the shot.

"You got a lucky hit with those torpedoes, but I won't fall for that again. You won't be able to hit me anymore," the Destroyer Princess boasted.

Bismarck, however, looked unperturbed. "I don't need to. Look behind you."

The Princess turned briefly to see a fleet of small watercraft sailing towards the battle, originating from the direction Shigure had fled in. In the distance, she could also see a human-made heavy cruiser looming, its guns and missiles undoubtedly pointed towards the battlefield.

"What the hell is that? A fleet of lifeboats on autopilot?" the Princess surmised. "How is that supposed to help you?"

"Look closer," Bismarck told her, sailing away from the Princess and back towards the encroaching fleet of lifeboats. "These boats are loaded with ammunition and explosives."

Now behind the long line of lifeboats and continuing to sail even further backwards, Bismarck pulled out a short, black, stick-like object from her coat pocket. "If I push a button on this detonator, or if any of these boats are hit by enough shots, they will explode."

As if to emphasize her point, one of the boats in the distance blew up, sending a huge fireball and a large column of water into the air.

"What the hell?" the Princess frowned.

"It is simple," Bismarck smiled, still sailing backwards and towards the heavy cruiser. "The moment you pass through the line of these lifeboats, I will push the button for several of them in this vicinity, and they will explode, taking you along with them. If that doesn't kill you, it will at least leave you crippled enough for us to finish you off - you already looked damaged as it is. We ship girls can pass through this explosive lifeboat barrier, but any Abyssals will be blown up by us if they try it. It's a moving minefield of sorts."

The Destroyer Princess noticed that the battlefield in general was beginning to calm down, and that more and more ship girls were sailing past the lifeboats and going back towards Japan. Most of them were busy with anti-air fire as they sailed back, throwing off any enemy planes that tried to tail them.

"To make things worse for you, reinforcements from the West and from Sasebo have also arrived," Bismarck continued. "You've lost this battle. Your only option now is to retreat back into the open ocean."

The Destroyer Princess wanted to retort, but she could not disagree with Bismarck's words. She saw on her radar that many of her comrades had been sunk.

"I would get moving if I were you. The lifeboats are only getting closer," Bismarck had to yell to the Destroyer Princess now that they were a fair distance apart. "And watch out for missiles! Now that the ship girl and Abyssal fleets are separated, the humans will have no problem firing everything they have into you!"

The Destroyer Princess clenched her teeth, unwilling to back down. However, her wounds were beginning to ache now, and she would not be able to remain afloat after taking many more hits, especially from a battleship.

 _Damn it… To think that those Shiratsuyu-class bitches could hold me off for so long…_

Though the Abyssals had not lost many ships outside of fodder that could be rebuilt, the Destroyer Princess still felt like this was a big defeat. A fleet containing two Princesses had been unable to break through the supposedly demoralized ship girl defense; she was sure that the rest of the Princesses would be having a good laugh at her expense in the near future.

The Destroyer Princess shot Bismarck a final glare before turning and sailing away from the ship girls and the approaching lifeboats. She opened a private connection to the Airfield Princess.

"Henderson… How are things on your end?" the Destroyer Princess asked.

" _Urgh, what do you think, dumbass? Can't you see the state of our fleet from the radar!"_ came the Airfield Princess' disgruntled reply.

"Heh, knowing that you got your ass beat makes me feel slightly better," the Destroyer Princess smirked to herself.

" _Shut up! H-Hey…! Fuck!"_ the Airfield Princess sounded like she was struggling with something. " _They managed to heavily damage my beast and now it looks like it's going to fucking explode. I'm going to have to detach it from my rigging… Do you know how hard it was to train this thing? Damn it!"_

"It's sort of your fault for storing so many lamentations in it. If you put that much negative energy into your beast, it's bound to be volatile," the Destroyer Princess chided her partner. "Well, whatever. Let's just get the fuck out of here."

* * *

Drake wore a rare smile as he watched the radar update in real time from the strategy room of the USS _Manifest Destiny_.

"They're retreating!" Colorado cheered, looking at the same screen.

"Yep. We won," Drake nodded approvingly. "So, what did you think of my strategy, Colorado? You were sent here to observe, right?"

"Y-Yes, but I was sent to observe the general air of an Abyssal battle rather than critique your strategy, sir!" Colorado hurriedly cleared up. "But your plan worked, so it had to be good, right? We haven't received any reports of friendly ship sinkings either."

Drake crossed his arms as he continued to watch the radar. "I suppose that's true. But still, there was a good amount of risk in this plan. If the enemy airpower had focused on destroying all of our lifeboats from afar, then we wouldn't have an answer. I didn't know the ship girl airpower was so depleted until we actually reached the battlefield, which is why I didn't take that into account… Luckily Iowa managed to draw in most of the Airfield Princess' airpower like I asked her to, but she's only one battleship. If the battle had dragged on, it would have ended badly for her."

"Ah, you worry too much, sir," Iowa grinned as she entered the situation room.

"Iowa!" Drake and Colorado both said at the same time.

"You made it back safely, good," Drake continued. "Wait, what happened to your hand? Shouldn't you be in the repair bay?"

"Nah, it's fine," Iowa waved her hastily-bandaged stump dismissively. "It's not life-threatening, and I'll get it reconstructed soon enough. Kashima was the one who really needed treatment… But anyway, just thought I'd stop by first to let you know I was here. This place is pretty empty, isn't it? It's just the two of you."

"When it comes to these sailors, the fewer around you, the better," Drake simply said. "Most of the officers are up on the bridge with Eliot. I didn't really need any support down here since the IJN is handling everything else already."

Zuikaku then walked into the room, saluting when she entered. "Admiral! How are Shoukaku and Akagi?"

"The medical staff managed to stabilize them, so they should be fine eventually," Drake told her, glad that they had picked up a few extra Japanese crew members at Tateyama.

"Ah, that's good to hear," Zuikaku breathed a sigh of relief.

"Hey, Colorado, come with me to the infirmary. Afterwards I'll tell you about the battle," Iowa said to her fellow American.

"Really? Okay!" Colorado wore a bright smile as she followed Iowa out of the room.

That left Zuikaku and Drake alone together. They shared an awkward silence before Zuikaku cleared her throat.

"Um, sorry I just kind of came in here and dumped Akagi and Shoukaku on you, sir," she sheepishly apologized. "I had to get back out there quickly, so you know…"

"Oh, yeah, it's not a problem," Drake said, stepping towards her. "You're not damaged yourself, are you? Just in case, maybe you should -"

Drake was interrupted when Zuikaku suddenly pulled him into a tight embrace. The rear admiral blinked in surprise, but then put his arms around the green-haired carrier as he heard her sniffle into his chest.

"Admiral… I… The Airfield Princess… We still can't beat her…" Zuikaku moaned, trying her best to hold back tears.

Drake held her close. "That's all right. The next time that bitch shows up, we'll face her together, okay? She won't get away again."

They stayed in that position for another fifteen seconds before Zuikaku pulled away, her face flushed in embarrassment. "S-Sorry, sir."

"Don't worry about it. But more importantly, I'm glad you're all safe. I'm sorry I couldn't be here when you needed me," Drake replied, his tone dropping as he went on.

Zuikaku wiped at her eyes, then smiled at him. "You're here now, and that's what matters. It's good to have you back, Admiral."

Drake found himself blushing as well now. He turned his face towards the monitor again and changed the subject. "So, uh, according to our radar and communications, all the other ship girls are safe and accounted for, though not all of them are aboard a ship yet. Some of them took heavy damage, but luckily no one sank. The Abyssals are also retreating, so it looks like this operation was a success."

"Mm, yeah, if you put it that way, I guess so," Zuikaku assented, though she was still disappointed at having failed to exact revenge on the Airfield Princess.

"Hey, the objective of this mission was to defend Tokyo, which we definitely did," Drake pointed out. "The Abyssals tried to strike when they perceived weakness in our fleet, and they were repulsed. This is a huge victory for us, especially after the disaster at Okinawa. You can bet that the media is going to be talking about this nonstop too."

"The return of the International Fleet, huh?" Zuikaku realized how they could spin it. "That would be good, I think. Having our navies working together again is the only way to win this war."

"I see you've matured, Zuikaku. So you don't hold a grudge against Intrepid anymore?" Drake asked.

"Ugh, I'm just happy you brought Iowa instead of her," Zuikaku replied, recoiling at the very mention of the American carrier's name.

Drake sighed. "Guess I spoke too soon… Anyway, now that the battle's over, let's go up to the bridge and coordinate with the rest of the fleet."

They then headed up to the bridge, with Drake making sure to keep Zuikaku close by him; he didn't need one of _Manifest Destiny_ 's sailors making a ribald comment to her and then inevitably ending up in the hospital or worse.

"Just in time," Captain Eliot smiled wryly as Drake and Zuikaku arrived at the bridge.

"There's a Japanese admiral who wants to speak to the commander of this ship," Ehrhard filled Drake in. "Since this is an American vessel, that would be you."

Drake went over to the main console, pressing a button beside the microphone that was attached to it. "Hello? This is Rear Admiral Richard Drake of the United States Liberation Navy."

" _Rear Admiral Drake? I have heard that name before,"_ a gruff voice Drake did not recognize answered from the other end. " _Ah, yes, the American who put up that pathetic display in that shogi match we had."_

 _Shogi…?_ Drake was slowly beginning to recall now. This must be Fleet Admiral Kaigan.

" _This is Fleet Admiral Kaigan of the Sasebo Naval Base, in case you don't remember,"_ he clarified regardless _. "My forces have arrived just as yours did, and it appears we have driven back the Abyssals. I presume you Americans came up with that lifeboat strategy?"_

"Yes, Fleet Admiral, it was me."

" _Hm… It is an interesting strategy, I will admit, but you got lucky that the Sasebo Fleet arrived in time. Our anti-air destroyers and other ships managed to thin out the enemy air force, or else they could have remotely destroyed your lifeboats, potentially killing our own forces instead of the enemy."_

"I realize that. I didn't have a lot of information to work with before I arrived at the battle, so I did the best I could. As you can see, it worked," Drake replied, slightly annoyed.

" _Do not get defensive, Rear Admiral. I am still new to these ship girls myself, so do not take this as a lecture - I am merely pointing out things that I noticed for my own personal learning. In truth, Admiral Hayama is doing the bulk of the work when it comes to ship girls. As much as I hate to admit it, he is more experienced than I am in that regard."_

Now that was a name that Drake did recognize. Hayama was the kid who somehow became an admiral in the IJN. He remembered being partnered with him and Bremerhaven for the war games exercise before the Battle of Okinawa.

" _The Sasebo Fleet will sweep forwards, making sure the Abyssals do not return,"_ Fleet Admiral Kaigan continued. " _We will then return to Sasebo since we still have plenty of fuel and none of our units are damaged. I assume you will be returning to the Tokyo Bay Base?"_

"Yes, that's right," Drake confirmed.

" _Fine, then. You may want to get in contact with Rear Admiral Genji aboard the_ Guadalcanal _,"_ Kaigan finished before ending his transmission.

 _Genji, eh? It sure has been a while,_ Drake thought when he heard that name.

"Wait, we're receiving another transmission," Captain Eliot then said. "Seems to be American."

Drake answered it, taking a look at the radar and the output screens beside it to see who was contacting them. From the looks of it, there appeared to be multiple planes flying towards them, human-made if their size was anything to go by.

"This is the _Manifest Destiny_ ," Drake greeted, narrowing his eyes at one of the screens which said that he was currently speaking to a B-1C Lancer bomber.

" _Roger, this is Freebird 1,"_ a man's voice replied from the other end. " _We, uh, received orders to come and assist the fleet battle taking place here. Where is the enemy? Our radar output can't see them."_

"The Abyssals? They're gone. The Sasebo Fleet is advancing outwards to make sure that they don't come back," Drake informed the Lancer squadron. "What base are you from?"

" _Base? We're from_ Liberation _,"_ the pilot answered.

" _Liberation_ …?" Drake repeated. "You mean the aircraft carrier? Where is she right now?"

" _We were sailing through the Taiwan Strait and giving a couple Chinese officers a tour on board when Fleet Admiral Van Dyke called in and ordered our squadrons to sortie. Looks like we missed the battle, though…"_

Drake was a bit surprised. Last he heard, USS _Liberation_ , the largest aircraft carrier in the world, was still in San Diego for repairs. Apparently he had not been informed on its movements, because it was now nearby. It was also possible that the Navy had just chosen not to inform anyone except for only those who needed to know in order to avoid any unwanted leaks.

"Yeah, the battle is over. You can provide air support for the Sasebo Fleet if you want, but just be sure to let them know who you are and what you're doing," Drake said.

" _Roger that, sir."_

"They brought the big guns to this fight, huh?" Eliot noted. "Maybe they were afraid you couldn't do it on your own, Admiral Drake."

"Then they were afraid for nothing. But more likely is that they sent backup just in case because they knew your sorry ass isn't competent enough to help me," Drake shot back. "Anyway, we should do as the Japanese admiral suggested and contact Genji. Get to it, Eliot."

A few seconds later, Captain Eliot got into contact with the _Guadalcanal_. Genji's voice answered in English from the other end.

"Manifest Destiny _, thank you for the assistance. This is Rear Admiral Genji from the IJN."_

"Genji. It's Rear Admiral Drake. How are things on your end? Any unfinished business before we return to base?"

" _Rear Admiral Drake…? You're back already."_ A hint of surprise colored Genji's normally serious tone. " _I shouldn't have expected anything less, I suppose… But no, everything appears to be in order. Right now we are sending a few ships forward to collect the remaining ship girls, and some should also be sailing towards your ship as well. Let's use the joint interface to keep track, then return to base when we have recovered everyone."_

"Roger that," Drake agreed, then shut down the communications for now.

 _Genji's still as professional as ever, I see,_ he thought, though it was comforting to know that some things remained the same even in his absence.

The next hour or so was spent recovering the ship girls and coordinating the conclusion of the battle with the Japanese ground forces. _Manifest Destiny_ had received clearance to dock at the Tokyo Bay Base, and apparently _Liberation_ was on its way there as well, meaning Japan was about to have a strong American presence for a while.

Many of the ship girls had sailed to Drake's heavy cruiser since it was close by, meaning that the repair bay on the ship was basically at maximum capacity. The ship girls who weren't that badly injured had been sent to the situation room since Drake wanted them to interact as little as possible with the sailors. He had placed Bismarck in charge of watching over the situation room while he went through the repair bay, taking stock of the more injured ships and trying to help wherever he could.

"Will you be staying at the base permanently, Admiral Drake?" Nagato asked him, wincing as he crouched down next to her and tightened the gauze around her abdomen.

"I don't know. I haven't received any further orders yet," Drake replied, standing up and wiping his hands on a nearby towel. "So, how has the base been? I see you got a new outfit."

"Oh, this? Some of our remodels came with new attire," Nagato tugged at her long, black coat, though it was now in tatters. "The base has been fine. This was our first real engagement since Okinawa, so…"

"I see. Didn't go so well for you, huh? You could barely walk when you sailed in here," Drake commented.

Nagato looked down at the floor. "... I know. I am truly pathetic…"

"Well, uh, it's just one battle," Drake said with a frown, not expecting Nagato to take his comment that harshly. "You'll get another chance, I'm sure."

"Yes," Nagato replied, though with an audible sigh attached to it. "Admiral… We were only in this position to begin with because some of our ships got overzealous. Lately it feels like some of us are losing our senses and are devoting all our energy to rage and hatred instead. Normally that would be a bad thing, of course, but… Could it be that those feelings actually make one stronger? The Abyssals share that same sentiment, and at first I disagreed with it, but I… You hate them, right? I still remember your rage-filled eyes that time when we met them back at Hachijo-jima. Is your anger the source of your strength?"

"I don't know for sure," Drake admitted, also slightly embarrassed that Nagato had not forgotten his outburst that day. "I've definitely had a strong hatred for the Abyssals… They've beaten me too many times and taken too much from me for me to ever forgive them. That's a big reason why I still have the motivation to fight against them. But even so…"

His career against the Abyssals was clearly borne out of hatred, hatred for himself for having to make decisions like the one at Tangier, as well as hatred for the enemy for putting him in that position in the first place. However, those feelings of anger did not get him far enough, and he remembered how he stalled multiple times, such as during the first air raid on the base and after that summit with the Abyssals Nagato mentioned… It was only because Kaga was there to help him that he was able to continue on. And when he lost Kaga at Okinawa, his momentum against the Abyssals slowed down once again, and he had only been able to recover it thanks to Bismarck's promise to him. So, after all that, could he really say that hatred was the thing that had carried him this far?

"Hatred can make you stronger. I won't lie about that," he continued after a brief silence. "But it can't win the war for you. If you let your rage consume you and you still fail to defeat the enemy, then what's left of you? You'll turn into a soulless husk, incapable of fighting at all. That's why I think you need more than just hatred alone, because you're not always going to triumph over your enemy. In times of defeat, you need things that can pull you out of your slump. Hatred can fuel you when you're moving forward, but it has no way of helping you if you take a step back."

"That… Maybe you are right, sir," Nagato muttered. She then clenched her fists. "Yes, you are surely correct. I refuse to accept anything else. Also, since you are here, have you spoken to Shigure yet?"

"Shigure?" Drake followed Nagato's eyes to see the dark-haired destroyer sitting in a corner of the room, watching over the broken bodies of her sisters that had been laid out on the beds. "Is she all right now? Last time I was here, she was completely unresponsive. I guess the Kai Ni remodel fixed her?"

"That's the issue. Though she can now function as a ship girl again, her personality has… Changed," Nagato said in a low voice. "She seems obsessed with killing Abyssals now, and she outright refuses to listen to orders that contradict her dark desires. She's nothing like the shy, kind girl she used to be."

"That does sound strange," Drake agreed. "I'm not sure if I can do anything right now, but at the very least, I'll go and talk to her a bit."

Apprehensively, Drake made his way over to the sulking destroyer. Shigure was seated on a chair facing the beds her sisters were on. The heavily-damaged Shiratsuyu-class destroyers were covered in bandages and had tubes going into their veins and throats, all in an effort to stabilize them until the ship reached land and they could be treated in a proper hospital.

As Drake approached, Shigure turned, her blue eyes widening in surprise, apparently not having noticed him even though he had been in the room for a few minutes now. "Admiral…? What are you… Hm. I suppose this _is_ an American ship, and it makes sense that you're the one they sent, especially since Bismarck is here too."

"Yeah. I see you've managed to recover as well… Though you don't really look that good right now. Are you sure you're fine with just bandages?" Drake asked, noting the missing hand and numerous other injuries the destroyer had suffered.

"I'm fine," Shigure simply replied, turning her hard gaze back onto the bodies of her sisters.

Drake couldn't help but stare at the corpses too. Murasame's and Yamakze's bloodied and burnt bodies stood out in particular to him, and he cringed. He regretted showing up to the battle so late and not being there to help earlier.

"So, uh, how have you been doing since your remodel?" Drake then questioned awkwardly, trying to find a way to bring up the subject indirectly.

"Hmph. So you heard from Nagato," Shigure said bluntly. "Whatever it is you're trying to do, don't bother. I'm going take revenge for today, and I'm going to do it by killing every single piece of shit Abyssal in my way. That's all there is to it."

 _Damn… Is this really Shigure?_ Drake wondered. "That sounds cool and all, but from the looks of things, you got your ass kicked today. Doesn't seem like you're off to a good start."

Shigure turned to glare at him. "And so what? You've lost plenty of battles too, sir."

"You're out of line, Shigure," Drake frowned, that comment having ticked him off. "You're just one destroyer. You'll never accomplish anything if you can't work together with your commanding officers and the rest of your fleet. One avenger on a crusade never ends well in the real world."

"Aren't you the one who told me to never forget the pain the Abyssals have caused me? To never forget the blood they've made me shed? I'm just following your advice!" Shigure growled.

"And I _also_ told you to work together with your fleetmates," Drake pointed out.

"Yes, you did. And look how that turned out," Shigure spat, turning back to her sisters. "Love, family… These ties… All they do is hold us back."

Drake couldn't believe he was hearing this from her. "Don't be stupid - those feelings are literally the core of a ship girl's strength. If you abandon all of that, then what is left to fight for?"

"You don't understand. It's to protect those very things that you must throw them away," Shigure said, a hint of sadness in her cold voice. "My sisters were hurt today because they came to my aid even when I told them not to. Yes, refusing love is painful… But there is a liberating freedom that comes with fighting without worrying that someone you love will be sad if you die. I don't want to think about my friends or my family when I'm fighting. All I need is a hard, unrelenting desire to destroy the enemy in front of me. The rest has no place on the battlefield."

Drake was about to respond, but then the ship's PA system called for him.

" _Rear Admiral Drake, please come up to the bridge."_

"... We'll finish this later, Shigure," Drake simply told her as he left.

Walking up to the bridge, Drake couldn't help but think about Shigure's words. Maybe it was true that letting go of personal attachments made you more 'free'... But was that really a benefit? If he didn't have things to force him to care about this world and this life, where would he be right now? Would he have even bothered to fight the Abyssals in the first place?

 _I guess time will tell who's right,_ Drake figured. _Will the Abyssals, who run on negative emotions, be able to defeat the ship girls, who are centered around positive ones?_

He recalled his conversation with Nagato a few minutes ago. _I know which emotions won out inside myself, at least… Now it's just time to show the rest of the world the same thing._


	54. Stars and Stripes Forever I

_A/N: Sorry for the long delay. I originally planned on releasing this chapter on 8/20, which would have been the second anniversary of this story, but unfortunately I was too busy. Either way, since I didn't get a chance to say it on that day, thanks you to all of you who have reviewed/favorited/followed throughout these two years. As you can probably tell, I am a bit busier now than I was when I first started this story, but nevertheless, I will try and avoid having long delays in the future. I probably said this back during the first anniversary, but this story is special because it is the only thing I've ever written on this site that I've consistently updated and not given up on. I don't know what it is about Kancolle, but it is one of the few franchises that has managed to hold my interest for more than a couple months in spite of all its problems (and there certainly are many)._

 _Anyway, thanks again to everyone who has read this story since that day back in 2017, and hopefully our interest in it doesn't die out anytime soon._

* * *

"Yeah, I bet ya missed ol' Suzuya, didn't you, sir?" Suzuya said with a big grin, her arm slung around Drake's shoulders as they walked towards the docks at the Tokyo Bay Naval Base.

"Of course. I barely managed to get by without you," Drake replied absently, most of his attention focused on flipping through a packet of papers he was holding.

"Hehe! I knew it!" Suzuya cheered obliviously. "So, what do you think of my new outfit? Cool, right?"

Drake glanced up from the papers to take stock of her. "Uh… You don't really look that different, to be honest."

Suzuya's expression soured. "But I got remodeled and everything!"

"From what I've read, not all of the remodels drastically change the appearance. But what really matters is if you've gotten stronger."

"Of course I have!" Suzuya declared confidently. "By the way, sir… Where are we going?"

" _I_ was going to the docks because I need signatures from the captains of both the _Manifest Destiny_ as well as _Liberation_ for these documents. I don't know where you're going," Drake replied, turning his eyes back to the papers.

"Aw, don't be so cold! We've just been reunited, so can't you be a little more affectionate?" Suzuya whined.

"I'm your commanding officer, so I'm not sure that's a good idea," Drake reminded her. However, he couldn't help but smile slightly in amusement. "I have to admit, though, it is good to be back. Even though this place is technically across the world from my actual home, it feels really comfortable. Never thought I'd say that about a navy base…"

"It's not the place itself, but the company ya keep!" Suzuya patted him on the back.

"Yeah, there were no girls as cute as you back in America," Drake told her, deciding to play along.

"Stop, you're making me blush!" Suzuya squealed.

Drake walked to the docks with Suzuya attached to him and chattering nonstop in his ear about everything that he missed while he was gone. Most of what she said was weird gossip or amusing anecdotes, but to his surprise, she did mention a ground operation they went on in Australia where they ran into an Abyssal Princess. He got the general picture of the battle from Suzuya, but he made a mental note to look at the after-action report anyway.

When they finally arrived at the docks, they were greeted with the sight of the _Manifest Destiny_ anchored right next to the _Liberation_. The massive aircraft carrier dwarfed the American heavy cruiser, and the Japanese heavy cruiser next to Drake looked up at the ship in amazement.

"Wow, that thing's big! I've never seen a ship that huge before!" Suzuya marveled.

"Yeah, it's the second-biggest ship in the world right now and the biggest aircraft carrier ever made," Drake informed her. "Its huge runway and hangar are made to hold many different aircraft, including those Lancers that came to assist us yesterday. A lot of the planes it carries can't be sortied from regular aircraft carriers."

"It must be like a city in there," Suzuya said with wonder. "Have you ever been inside, sir?"

"Nope. I mainly stuck to surface forces rather than the aerial side. At least until I was assigned to this base, that is… All right, I'm going to have to go aboard these ships to get the signatures, so this is where we part ways, Suzuya," Drake told her.

Suzuya pouted. "Eeeeeeh? Fine. But you can take me to dinner tonight to make up for this, right?"

"I don't know about that…"

"Nice! I'll see you at eight!" Suzuya grinned at him before leaving.

 _Well, okay, then,_ Drake sighed.

He was about to head to the _Manifest Destiny_ first to get it out of the way, but then he saw two familiar figures standing by a vending machine. It was Fleet Admiral Wei and Iowa, and they were currently engaged in a conversation of some sort.

 _Fleet Admiral Wei? Was he commanding_ Liberation _?_ Drake guessed. Nevertheless, Wei being out on the docks instead of inside the ship made it easier to find him. Drake was kind of afraid that he might get lost inside of the huge carrier.

Wei and Iowa noticed him as he approached and stopped their conversation.

"Captain Drake! Hello!" Iowa greeted with a big smile and a wave.

"Rear Admiral. Been some time, huh?" Wei nodded to him.

Drake saluted. "Sir. You came here on the _Liberation_ , I assume?"

"Yeah, Van Dyke kinda forced me to," Wei scratched his head with a frown. "To make matters worse, now that I'm here, the admiralty is making me go to some PR event that they're holding in Tokyo in a few days. That's actually what we were just talking about."

"A PR event?" Drake questioned.

"It's a parade for us! Isn't that cool, sir?" Iowa almost yelled.

"Uh, yeah, it's something like that," Wei chuckled. "We're doing a joint event with the IJN where we're basically just going to answer questions from the media, maybe give a couple speeches. The purpose is to show a 'sense of unity' between us and the Japanese in an effort to convince the public that INFCOM is still taking the Abyssal threat seriously."

"I see. Good luck with that, sir," Drake said.

"Oh? Why are you talking like you have nothing to do with this?" Wei smirked. "You're the American admiral who has actually served at an IJN base. You're practically the guest of honor!"

"... I should have known," Drake sighed. He wasn't one for crowds or big events like this.

"Haha! Well, if I have to do it, I'm sure as hell bringing you along. Misery loves company, after all," Wei teased. "Anyway, what's that packet you're carrying?"

"Oh, it's the permits to dock here. I need your signature," Drake remembered, handing Wei the packet and pulling a pen from his pocket.

"Ah, paperwork, my old friend," Wei groaned, then simply signed his name over the front page, not at all where he was supposed to sign, before handing it back to Drake.

"Th-Thanks…" _I guess if you're a fleet admiral, you can get away with this shit._

"So, how does it feel being back here? Gotta be better than Alaska, right?" Wei then asked.

"It doesn't look like this place has changed much. Even my flat was still the same as I left it, though most of the food is expired and the only clothes I had left there was a spare uniform," Drake said.

"I can say for sure that this is better than Alaska! Glad I'm out of that place," Iowa chimed in.

"Oh, right, do you know how long we are stationed here, sir?" Drake asked Fleet Admiral Wei. He didn't know if he was supposed to be here permanently, after all.

Wei rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Hm… I don't think I was told anything about that since Van Dyke was technically in charge of you. You'll probably need to ask him, but you'll definitely be here for the next couple weeks at the very least. Probably longer since we never replaced your position at this base, and you've done enough to earn it back."

"That's good to hear. I have some unfinished business I needed to take care of," Drake replied. Even if they told him he wasn't going to stay, this time he wasn't about to go without a fight.

"Yeah, I'll bet," Wei smiled. "All right, Drake. I have to get back to the ship to make some calls, but I'll see you later. You should give me a tour of the base or something… By the way, do you happen to know if they've got any spare dorms open for Iowa?"

"That's all right, I'll just stay with Captain Drake!" Iowa slapped Drake on the back.

"Oh, that's convenient! Less hassle that way. See you guys later," Wei concluded as he walked off.

 _Wait, what? He just agreed to that?_ Drake blinked in surprise. _Guess he didn't want to deal with the paperwork of putting her in as a temporary resident at the ship girl dorms… Great._

"Isn't that cool, sir? We'll be roommates!" Iowa beamed.

"Yeah… Hopefully no one gets the wrong idea," Drake shook his head. "Okay, I need to get Captain Eliot's signature, so you're better off staying back, Iowa. Why don't you go buy some groceries for the flat? You know where the base convenience store is, right?"

"Yes, sir! Do you have a spare key?"

Drake fished a key out of his pocket and handed it to Iowa. "Make sure not to lose it."

"Got it!" Iowa saluted. "I'll be sure to stock your fridge full of good stuff! I'll charge it all to the Navy's account."

 _Hopefully I don't regret this._ Drake could easily think of many ways this could go wrong. _Whatever. I'm just going to get Eliot's signature, submit this paperwork, and then go home to make sure Iowa doesn't fuck anything up._

As he boarded the _Manifest Destiny_ , Drake wondered what Wei was planning to do about Colorado and Nelson, who had also come along with them. Did he even know they were here? He figured they would simply have to share rooms with other ship girls, just as Prinz Eugen was doing with Bismarck.

Drake walked into the heavy cruiser and made his way to the bridge with little issue. Most of the crew knew him from before, and now that he was alone and without any eye-catching ship girls tagging along, none of the sailors had any reason to pester him.

"Well, well, if it isn't our dear Admiral Drake," Captain Eliot grinned as Drake entered the bridge. He was surrounded by a few other officers, and he held up a bottle of rum. "Care to join us for a drink?"

Drake gave him a flat look. "Seriously? You're drinking right now? You do realize that there's a fleet admiral in the vicinity, right?"

"Who, Wei? That guy wouldn't dare come aboard _this_ ship!" Eliot declared proudly, causing the other officers to laugh.

Drake wasn't amused. Instead, he just handed Eliot the paper he needed him to sign. "This is paperwork relating to your docking permissions. I need your signature here."

"Sure, sure. Here ya go, sir," Eliot handed the pen and paper back to Drake after signing it. "By the way, when are we going to disembark? I can't wait to explore this base! It's filled with cute girls like the ones you brought aboard, right?"

"I hope you recognize that every one of the ship girls on this base can easily kill you if they wanted to," Drake told him, cringing at the prospect of the _Manifest Destiny_ 's crew being given free reign to wander the base. "Anyway, I'm not in charge of that. If you want permission to disembark, you have to speak to Fleet Admiral Wei. Good luck with that."

Before Eliot could start complaining, Drake hurriedly made his exit. On one hand it seemed cruel to keep those sailors confined to their vessel, but on the other hand, there was a valid reason why they shouldn't be allowed on the base… Also might be an issue considering there was even more paperwork required for that too.

Instead of continuing to ponder the wonders of the military's love for bureaucratic bullshit, he decided to visit the base's hospital since he was by the docks anyway. A lot of the ship girls from the last mission had been able to heal fully after spending some time in the baths, but there were a few who still needed to stay at the hospital.

Drake entered the hospital and ran into Shiranui in the lobby. She seemed to be leaving, but she stopped and saluted when she saw him.

"Admiral, sir," she greeted in her usual serious, slightly cold tone.

"Shiranui. Good evening," he returned. Though she had been remodeled as well, Shiranui still looked pretty much the same as she had when he last saw her. "Were you visiting someone?"

"Just the members of our fleet, sir. I regret that I couldn't contribute more to the last battle," Shiranui said, a hint of frustration creeping into her tone.

"You'll have plenty more chances in the future," Drake assured her. "So, how are they? Any of them awake yet?"

"No, they were all still asleep."

"I see…" Drake was disappointed at that, but since he was already here, he might as well go visit them anyway.

"Sir… If you don't mind me asking, what were you doing these past few months?" Shiranui questioned, catching him off-guard.

"What was I doing…?" Drake was unsure of how to answer that. What had he been doing? Moping around in Alaska? "I don't know what I was doing. But I do now."

Shiranui's expression didn't change, but she seemed satisfied with that answer. "Right. I will see you later then, sir."

Drake headed up to the second floor, and when he went into the room that was used to hold the injured ship girls, he saw that they were all still unconscious, just as Shiranui had said. There were no nurses or doctors present at the moment, and the room was quiet save for the soft beeps of a few of the machines.

The rear admiral pulled up a nearby chair and sat down next to Shoukaku's bed. The white-haired carrier moved a bit when he did that, and her face contorted into an expression of distress, as if she were having a bad dream. Moments later, she awoke. She blinked rapidly, trying to recognize where she was, and when she turned her head to her side to see Drake, her golden eyes widened in surprise.

"A… Admiral?" Shoukaku muttered in confusion. "What… Am I dead? Is this the afterlife?"

"You're still alive. You're at the base's hospital," Drake told her, trying not to laugh at the ridiculousness of her question.

"Oh… I see." Shoukaku quickly came back to reality. "But… What are you doing here, sir? I thought you left this base?"

"Yeah, but I told you I wouldn't be leaving permanently, right? I'm back now," Drake said.

"Really? This is so sudden," she replied, trying to sit up, but she winced in pain and slunk back down. "Ugh… I'm sorry you have to see me in such a pathetic state, sir."

Drake gave her an amused smile. "It isn't the first time, you know."

He thought that would lighten her mood, but instead it just made her look even more depressed. "I know. I'm sorry."

"No need to apologize. Maybe if I had been here the whole time instead of leaving for months and then only returning at the end of this battle, things wouldn't have ended up this way," he said, clenching his fists.

"I was the one in charge of this fleet during your absence, and I completely failed as a leader. There are no excuses for that," Shoukaku insisted softly, her voice tortured. "I thought that this time, we would finally be able to beat them… But the Airfield Princess took us out before we could even get to her. I could have ended up just like Kaga, and my stupidity would have made Akagi and Zuikaku share the same fate…"

Drake shook his head. "Shoukaku. You are a ship girl, and I am your admiral. There is a reason why officers like me exist, and that reason is to lead and support you when you go into battle. I understand what you're saying, and maybe you're right about everything that you just told me, but none of that changes the fact that you shouldn't have been out there alone in the first place."

"But you were ordered to leave your post here. You didn't make that decision yourself, sir," Shoukaku argued. "Well, I did hear that you punched someone in the face, but I know that's not like you. You wouldn't have done it if you knew they would have reassigned you for it."

Drake looked away. "The only reason I lost my temper like that was because I was frustrated at myself for failing so spectacularly. I knew I was too scared to face the Abyssals again, and I was angry about it. But since I was too weak to take my anger out on the true enemy, I took it out on others. Fleet Admiral Van Dyke knew that too, and that was the real reason I was reassigned. Both I and my commanders had lost confidence in my ability to fight the Abyssals and win."

"Oh…" was all Shoukaku managed.

"But that's over now." Drake stood up. "I'm still afraid of the Abyssals, I'll admit. But I'm even more afraid of what's going to happen if I don't fight them, and the battles I've fought since I left this base have only confirmed that. I won't leave you to fight alone again. That's a promise."

Shoukaku blinked in surprise, then smiled. "I will do my best to get stronger too, sir. To make up for the sorry sight I am right now, please watch me the next time we are on the battlefield. I won't disappoint you."

"The same goes for me. I'll see you later, Shoukaku."

* * *

Iowa walked up to Drake's flat, her arms full of brown bags containing various groceries.

"This is the place, right? Yeah, definitely," she said to herself, setting the bags down in front of the door.

Iowa produced the key Drake gave her from in between her breasts and unlocked the door, holding it open with her foot as she picked up the grocery bags and brought them inside.

Near the door, she noticed a pair of dusty, cheap-looking sneakers. _I guess I should take my boots off before entering, then._

She flicked the lights on as there was very little natural sunlight entering the flat. Iowa picked up the bags again and deposited them on the kitchen counter. Before she started putting away the perishables, she opened the fridge to check if there was anything in there. She found a couple of cans of beer, a bottle of ketchup, and some bread.

 _Nothing too interesting… Some of this stuff is probably expired anyway._

Nothing looked out of the ordinary in the rest of the flat, except for the fact that dust had begun to accumulate. Iowa wondered if she should clean up the place before Drake returned, but she didn't even know if he kept a vacuum cleaner around. Aside from the dust, the flat was fairly neat and ordered, probably because there wasn't much furniture to begin with.

Iowa went into the bedroom. The bed had been made and remained untouched ever since Drake left. _I wonder if he'll let me sleep on the bed with him… Nah, he'll probably be weirded out even when I tell him I don't plan on doing anything to him. I just hope he doesn't offer me the bed and then goes and sleeps on the couch. It's his flat, after all._

Noticing a couple pictures on his nightstand, Iowa picked one of them up. It depicted Drake with his arm around a pretty girl with brown hair and blue eyes, a rare smile on his face. Iowa recognized the girl from INFCOM headquarters and recalled that she was his cousin, though she couldn't quite remember her name.

She set that photo down and glanced at the other one. This time it was a picture of Drake and two almost identical blonde girls wearing school uniforms. The picture was taken during fall, as evidenced by the red, orange, and gold leaves on the ground and trees, and the three of them were standing in front of a large house. She assumed it was Drake's home.

 _Relatives of his? They look nothing alike. Then again, that brown-haired girl doesn't look like him either._

Iowa found herself wondering about Rear Admiral Drake in general. Of course, he was a captain when she first met him, and the rank kind of just stuck for her. He didn't seem to mind it, which was something she liked about him; unlike most of the commanders she had known during her career, he was much more relaxed and forgiving. While other officers saw her either as a weapon or just another sailor they could boss around, Drake treated her like a colleague.

When she was a warship, she had no problem being seen as a weapon and fully embraced that role, but now, the title chafed at her. Was it because of her human form? Did becoming a ship girl make her crave things that humans did, such as equality, acknowledgment, and friendship?

 _Eh, it doesn't matter. In the end, I'm still a soldier,_ Iowa figured.

However, even as she thought that, she knew that being a soldier and a weapon were two very different things. Drake's various struggles and transformations over the time she had known him were a perfect example of that; he always looked like he was fighting with himself as well as with the enemy. A weapon would never have that problem.

 _Human bodies and minds are so complicated. I wonder, are weapons and robots better for fighting than humans are?_ Iowa laid down on the bed as she pondered this, her long, blonde hair splayed out underneath her. _Maybe not. After all, the reason why ship girls and Abyssals are so strong is because of human emotions and feelings, whether they be positive or negative._

Iowa stood up from the bed and went over to the sole window in the room, pushing aside the drapes to let some sunlight in. _Being human definitely has its benefits. Though I'm glad to have served my country over the decades, now I finally get to fight for it because I want to._

As a ship girl instead of a warship, Iowa was very conscious of her importance to her country and to humanity as a whole, and she knew that billions of people were counting on her to do her part and defeat the Abyssals. Though this added a lot of pressure, it also made her feel at home at the same time. She knew she had a purpose in life, and it was fulfilling to be able to understand that purpose and fight with all her strength to make her goals reality.

Even so, she wondered what would happen after the Abyssals were defeated. Would she be able to live however she wanted, maybe like a normal girl? Or would she remain in the navy as a military asset or public relations figure, like she was when she was a museum ship? Either way, it didn't matter. Beating the Abyssals was the most important thing right now, and she wouldn't fail.

She then heard the door opening, and she walked out of the bedroom to see Drake and Colorado entering.

"Oh, Colorado! What's up?" Iowa greeted with a smile.

"Don't 'what's up' me! What do you think you're doing in here?" Colorado fumed. "You're not allowed to stay here! You have to stay on the ship or in the dorms with the rest of us!"

"Huh, why should I? And Captain, why did you bring her here anyway?" Iowa asked.

"She just saw me on the way back and followed me home because she assumed you were staying here," Drake sighed.

"It isn't fair! This place is way bigger than our room in the ship! I'm going to file a complaint with the Fleet Admiral!" Colorado whined.

"Don't bother. Fleet Admiral Wei is the one who forced this upon me in the first place," Drake informed her.

Colorado pouted, now at a loss. "T-Then… Then I'm going to tell Bismarck!"

"Wait, what?" Drake managed, but before he could stop her, Colorado was already out the door.

"Oops. Looks like you're going to be in trouble, sir," Iowa noted sheepishly.

Drake sighed again. "Yes, I'm sure I'll get a lecture from Bismarck about how I'm 'lacking in discipline' or something. But this whole thing is your fault anyway, so I'm not sure why I'm the one getting in trouble…"

"Hey, you're the superior, so you take the responsibility," Iowa grinned.

"Ah, yes, I wish I could blame all my mistakes on my superiors too," Drake shook his head. He then took a moment to look around his flat. "Looks the same as ever in here. Good thing they didn't give the place away while I was gone, though I did take the keys with me…"

Iowa smiled at him. "Don't worry, everyone believed that you'd come back! I knew you would too! Why do you think the Navy never bothered to send another officer in your place?"

"You're making it out like I'm some sort of special asset the Navy can't afford to replace, which definitely isn't true," Drake sighed. "Anyway, about that parade or whatever - do you know anything more about it? Fleet Admiral Wei didn't go into much detail."

Iowa scratched her head. "Hm… I think it's going to be held in Shinjuku, two days from now in the evening. I forget what time exactly. But like Admiral Wei said, it's just an event to show off the ship girls and to try and get everyone revitalized about fighting the Abyssals. I heard it's going to be broadcast on major news networks around the world, so it should be fun!"

"Around the world…?" Drake repeated dumbly, now even more reluctant to attend.

Iowa nodded. "Yep! Maybe you'll even become famous, sir!"

"Urgh…" Drake groaned under his breath. He had a bad feeling that he was going to fuck something up during the proceedings and embarrass himself. Hopefully not too many people would tune into the program.

"Hey, you still got paperwork to do?" Iowa asked, noticing the stack of papers Drake was carrying under his arm. "How about I help you out? You are letting me stay at your flat, after all."

Iowa didn't exactly seem like she would be good at doing paperwork, but since the remainder of the work was relatively easy, he decided it couldn't hurt to let her help.

"All right. You take this half of the stack. Just check this box and this box, unless it's this type of form, in which case you'll check that box instead…"

The two of them spent a good part of the next hour sitting at the kitchen counter, finishing up the paperwork. Iowa was surprisingly diligent, and even though she pilfered a couple cans of beer from Drake's fridge and downed them fairly quickly, it didn't seem to affect her work at all.

"Ah, finally done!" Iowa grinned, throwing down her pen with relief.

"I just finished as well," Drake said. "All that's left to do is take this back to the office. You want to come?"

"Sure, I don't have anything better to do," she shrugged.

The two Americans stepped out of Drake's flat and into the calm night air. There was a slight chill in the sea breeze as the fall season started to show itself, but aside from that, the scenery was pleasant and nostalgic, especially for Drake. The relaxing crashing of waves against sand could be heard in the distance, and the bright white stars shone boldly above the naval base.

"Hey, Captain," Iowa asked as they walked, "do you know that quote by President Kennedy?"

"Quote…? Oh, you mean the 'Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country' one? What about it?"

"I was just wondering… Do you ever feel like you're not doing enough? Like you're not doing what's expected of you?" Iowa wondered, glancing at the beach as they walked by.

"Hm, not really," Drake admitted. "I like my country, but I don't feel _obligated_ to fight for it. It was my own choice to join the military, and sometimes I'm all too aware of the other, more peaceful and possibly more comfortable paths I've given up because of it… So yeah, not really."

"I see. I guess it's different for you. You weren't created for the sole purpose of being a weapon, after all," Iowa said. Drake detected a tinge of sadness in her voice, as if she were just realizing that no human would be able to fully sympathize with her situation after all.

"So you're worried that you're not contributing as much as you should?" Drake surmised.

Iowa sighed. "Yeah, I know it sounds stupid. But you know, back in World War II, I didn't really get to do anything. Well, I technically did, but even I knew that battleships like me wouldn't change the course of the war, and that we weren't really that important to the overall war effort. I just sort of wonder if the money they spent to build me was actually worth it. And even now, I feel like I've been able to help with the fight against the Abyssals, but I don't think I've done anything that makes me stand out from any other ship girl… I mean, Kaga and Yamato literally gave up their lives fighting for humanity. Shouldn't I have to put my life on the line too? Why am I fighting weaker opponents? It feels just like back in the War… The ones who actually did the real work are dead, and I'm just there to do the clean-up."

"You're right, it does sound stupid, probably because it is stupid," Drake said bluntly. "Kaga and Yamato… You don't want to end up like them. If you die, you'll be way less of a help than you would be if you were alive, so it's ridiculous to want to do what they did. And trust me, you have been a big help to both America and the rest of the world, even if you haven't done it in a dramatic fashion."

Iowa smiled sadly. "I appreciate it, sir. I can tell you mean what you say. And yeah, like I said, I know it's stupid. I just… Sometimes I find it hard to convince myself that I've lived up to my purpose in life."

"Hah, I think everyone feels that way to some extent. Very few people can say with confidence that they've fulfilled their purpose in life, and most of us don't even know what that purpose is in the first place. If you already know that much, then you're already ahead of us," Drake said. "Anyway, your life is far from over, Iowa. You'll have plenty of time to fulfill that purpose, and maybe you'll even find that all those little things you've done have added up to produce a big result in the end."

Iowa grinned more brightly this time. "Yeah, you're probably right. Thank you, sir!"

The two went into the Administrative Building to drop off the papers, though when they entered the main office, they found that there were already a lot of ship girls waiting inside.

"Admiral! There you are, desu! How come you didn't write to me when you were gone?" Kongou demanded to know, immediately pushing herself well into Drake's personal space.

"Kongou, good evening," he merely replied, trying to get past the boisterous battleship to deposit his paperwork on his desk.

"Hey, Kongou! How ya doing?" Iowa slapped Kongou on the back, almost knocking her over.

"Geh, Iowa! You've got quite a nerve, showing up like this and taking the spotlight from me!" Kongou complained.

"Hey, Admiral! You're late for our dinner!" Suzuya greeted Drake with a pout as he set his paperwork on the desk.

"Yeah, you're late!" Sendai repeated with a nod. Fubuki, Asashio, Amatsukaze, and Kiso were also with her. "We're all coming along too!"

"Yes! It's been so long since we last saw you, sir!" Fubuki said enthusiastically, apparently excited to have her admiral back.

Suzuya sighed. "I tried to stop them, but they forced themselves along anyway."

"Uh, all right," was all Drake could say. On one hand, this meant that he would probably have to pay for all their meals, but on the other hand, he couldn't just refuse them after seeing the smiles on their faces. He was surprised but also glad to see that his fleet members had missed him a lot.

"Hey! Don't just ignore me!" Bismarck stomped over to make her presence known. "Admiral, I heard some disturbing rumors concerning you and Iowa! They're not true, are they?"

 _So Colorado told her after all. Great_. "I don't know what 'rumors' you heard, but no, they're probably not true. Iowa is just staying at my flat for a few days, that's all."

Bismarck's eyes widened in horror. "'That's all'?! Have you lost your mind, sir? This is unacceptable!"

"Oh, yeah? Why's that?" Drake replied. _I should have known Bismarck wouldn't be convinced so easily, unfortunately._

"B-Because! You can't stay with her!" Bismarck shot back, not answering his question at all.

Iowa overheard their conversation and ceased tormenting Kongou for a bit in order to come over and throw her arm around Drake's shoulder.

She smirked at Bismarck. "What's the matter, Kraut? You got a problem with me?"

Bismarck fumed even harder at that. "Yes, I do! Why can't you find your own room? You can't take advantage of the Admiral like this!"

"All right, I think I'm going to head out," Drake decided, not wanting to get caught up in their argument.

"Oh? Are you jealous that me and Captain Drake are going to be sleeping in the same bed?" Iowa continued to goad Bismarck.

"What?!" Bismarck shrieked. She grabbed Drake's arm, preventing him from leaving. "Admiral! It isn't true, is it?"

Drake resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "Would you stop being so easily -"

He was about to lay into Bismarck for being so obviously manipulated by Iowa, but the genuine look of betrayal in her blue eyes made him stop. He blushed, looking away from her.

"No. We're not doing anything like that," he simply said.

"Oh, _gut_ ," Bismarck said, relief clear in her voice. However, she quickly realized how blatant she was being, and she let go of his arm in a hurry and started blushing herself.

Iowa shook her head as she watched the exchange. "You two really don't realize how ridiculous you look, do you? You're lucky that no one but me was paying attention just now. Well, whatever. Let's get going! Captain Drake is paying for dinner tonight!"

Those words snapped the other ship girls out of the conversations they were having, and they cheered in unison at the announcement. Drake himself had no say in this, but since he expected it anyway, he simply resigned himself to his fate as the ship girls led him to Mamiya's Restaurant.

* * *

 _Ah, I haven't eaten here in a while,_ Drake thought as they arrived at the restaurant.

The inside of Mamiya's Restaurant was bustling, as was expected since they had arrived at peak dining hours. Aside from the ship girls, there were also some Japanese and American sailors inside, which he supposed made sense considering how many ships were docked at the harbor right now. Regardless, unlike the _Manifest Destiny_ 's crew, these sailors were well-behaved and seemed to be in their own little groups instead of harassing or gawking at the ship girls.

What surprised Drake even more was that Rear Admiral Genji was seated at a table with Vice Admirals Ehrhard and Bremerhaven in the corner. The admirals saw him as he walked in, and Genji turned and gestured for Drake to come over.

"Find a table for us, I'll be right back," Drake told Suzuya before heading over to where the three admirals were seated.

"Admiral Drake," Genji nodded in greeting. "Have you heard about the military parade?"

"You mean the one in a couple days? Yeah," Drake replied. "You all are going, right?"

"Unfortunately. We just received word from Admiral Helmholtz that we have to go," Ehrhard answered grumpily.

"The whole point of us coming here was to show the world that Germany is helping with the war effort, so the moment I heard about this parade, I knew this would happen," Bremerhaven said, also not looking happy about the prospect. Like Drake himself, Bremerhaven seemed to be the type to prefer more quiet and calm places.

"Hmph. I also think this idea is dumb, but it's not as if we can convince our superiors of that," Genji frowned. "Either way, we're not the only ones who don't like it. Have you seen the evening news, Drake?"

"No, I was doing paperwork. What happened?"

"Apparently it was leaked that there are a large number of American sailors in our port, which has made people unhappy," Genji informed him. "I don't know how it's possible that the information got out and spread so quickly, but it somehow did. Now there have been some small protests that have sprung up around the country, demanding that the foreigners get out."

Drake was confused. "Why would people be protesting? Japan and America are allies, right? What's wrong with helping each other?"

"I suppose you don't know since you've been out of the country for several months, but I would have thought that your superiors would have told you," Genji sighed at having to explain this. "In the past few months, there has been this false narrative being spread that the International Fleet and the other countries of the world are using Japan as a guinea pig against the Abyssals. As you know, most of the recent major battles have been fought in Japanese waters, and Okinawa was the first place completely taken over by the Abyssals. People have begun to think that INFCOM is just using Japan as a shield to absorb and weaken the Abyssals, only to throw us away when we have served our purpose."

"What? That's dumb as fuck. Plenty of foreign sailors have lost their lives trying to defend Japan, and it's not as if we choose which country the Abyssals are going to attack," Drake pointed out.

"Yes, I am aware of how stupid it is. However, the public can be easily deceived and swayed by emotions, so much so that logic has no effect on them," Genji stated. "Luckily the vast majority of the Japanese people don't believe this nonsense, but unfortunately, there are a small number who do, and even that much can be a threat to the coordination of the war effort, especially if the sentiment spreads. The Kenpeitai is looking into where these rumors started and if there is a specific organization or group that has been proliferating these narratives, but they haven't found anything yet."

"So I assume this is why our navies want to hold this military parade?" Drake realized.

"Yes. They think it will create good publicity for INFCOM, but in reality, I expect that it won't have any effect," Genji said.

"Those who already like INFCOM don't need a parade, and those who want the foreigners out are just going to become even angrier when they see this," Ehrhard agreed, shaking his head in disapproval.

"Well… I'm sure all of us are used to being dragged into things like this by now," Bremerhaven said, running a hand through his platinum-blond hair.

"Sadly that much is true. Anyway, I should get going. I'll see you all tomorrow," Drake gave his farewell after seeing that Suzuya was impatiently waving at him to come over to their table.

"Admiral! What are you wasting time chatting with those losers for?" Suzuya grinned as he sat down next to her. She then shoved a menu in his face. "Here, look at this! They got a new type of curry while you were gone!"

Drake spent the rest of the dinner having his ear talked off by Suzuya, who insisted on picking up where she left off earlier in the day. The other ship girls from his fleet were also eager to tell him what they had been up to in the past months, and they were curious as to what he had been doing as well. Though Drake normally didn't like talking a lot, especially when he was trying to eat, he had to admit that he was enjoying himself this time. In spite of the fact that he had been gone for so long, his ship girls still treated him like a comrade, and he was grateful for that.

The only problem was Bismarck, who kept staring at him when she thought he wasn't looking. He wasn't sure if she was still mad about what Colorado said, but he didn't feel like dealing with that issue any further tonight, so he decided to leave it for now.

The dinner went by quickly, and Drake and Iowa said their goodbyes to the rest of the ship girls before starting to walk back to the flat. However, Drake suddenly remembered he had one more stop to make before heading back.

"I'm going to take a short detour. You can go back first. You still have the key, right?" Drake asked Iowa.

"Yeah, I do," Iowa confirmed. She looked curious as to where he was going, but she didn't pry.

"All right. I'll see you back at the flat."

Drake started walking in the general direction of the beach. The night air was still as tranquil as it was when he first left his flat, and he took in a deep breath of the salty air. The refreshing, sharp feeling energized him, and in a few minutes, he reached his destination.

Still standing atop the small cliff overlooking the beach and the sea was the obelisk. Kaga's blue ribbon remained wrapped around it, slightly faded now but still dancing defiantly in the sea breeze.

Drake knelt down next to the obelisk and put his hand atop the ribbon. "I'm back."


End file.
